ASTANA, Kazakhstan, July 17. The Agency for Financial Monitoring has shut down the activities of the financial pyramid scheme "KazMunayGas Invest," Trend reports citing the Agency for Financial Monitoring of Kazakhstan.
According to the information, Kazakh citizens were promised quick and high returns from purchasing shares of National Company KazMunayGas. Profits of 50 percent every 15 days were promised.
"In reality, no securities were purchased, and payments were made using funds from new participants. The minimum initial investment was 500,000 tenge (approximately $950)," the AFM reported.
As a result, about 200 people fell victim to the financial pyramid, investing more than 1 billion tenge (about $1.9 million).
With the illicit proceeds, the suspects purchased:
Two expensive cars - "Tank 500" and "BMW X5";
A residential house;
A restaurant in the Turkestan region.
The total value exceeds 438 million tenge (approximately $832,000). The property was registered under relatives’ names to avoid possible confiscation.
By court order, the mentioned property has been seized, the agency noted. The suspects have been detained, and the investigation continues.
A financial pyramid is a fraudulent investment scheme where returns for early investors are paid using funds from new investors rather than real profits from the company's operations. This model is unsustainable and eventually collapses when new investors stop joining.