Consequences of financial pyramids. Financial pyramids in Russia. Multilevel financial pyramids

Introduction……………………………………………………..2

The emergence of the pyramids……………………………………3

Pyramids in the European economy…………………….10

Russian pyramids……………………………………..14

Conclusion……………………………………………………21

References………………………………………...23

Introduction

In the mid-90s, Russia went through a period of mass creation of financial pyramids. This period has become an integral part of the history of Russia in transition. Nevertheless, the Russian financial pyramids were not a specific discovery of their founders, but became another page in the history of the emergence of such organizations on the world stage. The era of financial pyramids had a strong impact on society. Many people have invested their money in pyramid schemes. A large number of articles of various content devoted to pyramid organizations appeared in the media. What is happening has attracted the interest of the authorities (government, tax police, etc.). The consequences of the era of financial pyramids turned out to be significant for the country, some of them continue to affect the economic situation in Russia to this day. In fact, immediately after the collapse of the main pyramid companies, which marked the end of mass pyramid building, the process of comprehending the past events by society, including economists, began. Basically, the issue of financial pyramids in Russia, the reasons for the participation of people in financial pyramids, the significance of these organizations for the country's economy were studied. Within the framework of this work, the period of construction of financial pyramids in Russia will be considered, from the point of view of the world history of the issue. The purpose of this work is to compare the events that took place in Russia in the mid-1990s with several other pyramids and highlight the common features and characteristics of these phenomena. Until now, it has not been clearly defined which financial structure is considered a financial pyramid. There are many features and signs of financial pyramids. Among them, high yield valuable papers companies and the rapid growth of their rate, the payment of dividends to investors due to new income from investors, the presence of a powerful advertising campaign promoting the financial structure, the corrupt connection of the organizers of the financial pyramid with the authorities. In this work, a pyramid will be understood as any financial structure operating on the principle of pyramidal payments, that is, paying profit to depositors (investors) through new income from depositors (investors), and not through investments in the real sector.

The emergence of the pyramids

Pyramids existed in different countries at different times. However, they have many similarities, which will be discussed in detail. First of all, the conditions and situations that have developed in countries when such a phenomenon as a financial pyramid arises will be considered.

According to the situation in which the pyramid is born, financial pyramids can be divided into two groups. Organizations of the first group initially appear as financial pyramids. (for example, JSC MMM). Organizations of the second group become financial pyramids due to certain reasons at one of the stages of their development. Initially, they were created as absolutely normal companies, financial structures and could not become financial pyramids. (For example, the GKO system in Russia). Among the conditions in which financial pyramids arise, four main ones can be distinguished.

1) First of all, there must be a market for stocks or securities. The market makes it possible to exist the main instrument of financial pyramids: securities or shares, with significant fluctuations in their prices. At the beginning of the XVIII century. in France and England, paper money and shares appeared, manipulations with them became possible. Approximately the same situation developed in Russia in the early 1990s. Of course, paper money and securities existed in Russia (as part of the USSR) before, but there was no securities market within the country, there were no shares - the enterprises belonged to the state. Both France in the second half of the 19th century, and Russia in the late 90s of the 20th century. had a stock market.

2) It is also necessary that there are no legislative restrictions on the organization of the activities of financial structures operating on a pyramidal principle. It should be noted that financial pyramids, as a rule, arise absolutely legally, on legal grounds. At the same time, legislative restrictions, most often, do not exist due to lack of experience. But at the same time, it must be said that, as the researchers note, “the improvement of laws is not able to put a damper on financial scams, since it essentially prohibits not a financial pyramid as such, but only certain operations that are most often used to create financial soaps.” bubbles. Thus, their appearance is complicated, but not canceled". Nevertheless, in the conditions of the existing "anti-pyramidal" legislation, financial pyramids of the second group arise more often than the first. when creating financial pyramid schemes.Both England and France encountered such organizations for the first time.Russia found itself in a similar situation in 1994-1995.

3) The third important condition for the emergence of financial pyramids is the ability of the population to make savings (buy shares, securities), that is, a certain level of material well-being of the population. The population of France in the 80s of the XIX century. had that opportunity. As A. V. Anikin writes: "The Republic grew rich, and, above all, the middle stratum, or middle class, grew rich. F. Lesseps counted on this stratum when he created the Panama Company and issued its shares." some improvement in the material condition of the population: the real income per capita increased, the former frantic inflation rates slightly decreased, privatization took place, the country began to enter the market economy (the first stage of the transition period passed), the population "woke up" a little after the shock of 1991-1993. As a rule, pyramids of the first group count on households as investment units. For example, the main contributors of JSC "MMM" were ordinary contributors, including pensioners and the disabled. Therefore, when assessing the probability of the emergence of financial pyramids, one should pay attention to the motives for savings and the propensity to save the population.

4) Finally, the last basic condition is the presence of the population's propensity to invest in financial institutions, including financial pyramids.

There are three approaches to explaining the participation of the population in financial pyramids: economic, psychological and sociological.

1) The economic approach explains the participation of the population in financial pyramids by the phenomenon of information asymmetry, that is, the limited awareness of the population about the course investment projects, due to the fact that their organizers do not provide the full amount of information.

2) The psychological approach is based on the initial predisposition of people to make mistakes that contribute to the emergence of financial pyramids: a predisposition to optimism, to overestimate their chances, to be sure that they are right.

3) The sociological approach speaks of the transformation of various people, upon reaching mass gatherings, into the public, and then into the crowd, whose behavior is programmed with the help of the media (an important part of which is advertising) and other means of influence. Sociologists also introduce the concept of trust as a factor in mass investment behavior. "A significant influence on the formation of trust is exerted by collective ideas that are formed, on the one hand, in the public circle of communication associated with the media and communication, and on the other hand, in the private sphere, in which the importance of personal experience and the opinions of friends and acquaintances is high. In accordance with how the company and the situation as a whole are presented, a system of risk and well-being indicators arises, and a range of information sources trustworthy, and an action strategy is being built" High confidence in JSC "MMM" was provided by large-scale advertising by the company, distrust of state financial institutions (Sberbank) and the state in general due to the depreciation of savings and high inflation early 1990s, as well as the recent emergence in Russia of private financial institutions such as joint-stock companies and private commercial banks, as a result of which the population had no experience of investing money in these financial institutions. The credibility of the South Sea Company was ensured by its support in the media, as well as the patronage of Parliament, in particular Robert Harley, the leader of the Tories (Conservatives). High confidence in the Mississippi Company was formed under the influence of the halo that arose around John Law, the founder of the company, who managed to boost the country's economy in a short time by issuing paper money. Ferdinand Lesseps, the creator of the Panama Company, who had previously successfully built the Suez Canal opened in 1869 with the money of shareholders, also had a halo of glory. Finally, GKOs and OFZs were credible as government securities.

In the event of the emergence of financial pyramids of the second group, an important role in addition to the above is played by another factor - the depletion of the financial resources of the company (or the state, as in the case of GKOs in Russia). shares (that is, to pay dividends on the principle of pyramidal payments), because the company was running out of money, and the construction of the canal, incorrectly designed in terms of money and time, did not bring it profit. Ferdinand Lesseps, the head of the Panama Company, built the Suez Canal with the money of shareholders, which brought him fame. At the same time, dividends to the shareholders of the Suez Company were paid not at all according to the pyramidal principle. The GKO system in Russia also became a pyramid due to a lack of budgetary resources under adverse economic circumstances (falling oil prices, global financial crisis, which began with Asian countries). Due to these circumstances, the government was unable to repay the obligations from the available budget money and resorted to issuing new obligations. As a result of these actions, a pyramid has grown. It should also be noted that in each specific case, one or another condition can play a major role in the emergence of a financial pyramid. In addition, each situation has its own characteristics, whose influence can significantly affect the formation of certain financial institutions, including financial pyramids. For example, Russians 1994-1995. made savings to keep money from depreciating. Therefore, people invested in high-yield investment institutions, which were declared financial pyramids.

Next, we will consider the periods into which financial pyramids are divided during their existence. These periods will be analyzed separately for the pyramids of the first group and the second group, since their periodization is somewhat different.

Pyramids of the first group.

First of all, a financial pyramid can sometimes be divided into several smaller pyramids. Thus, the period of existence of JSC "MMM" is "divided into four main stages - the first pyramid, the second pyramid, the third pyramid and replays. At the same time, each stage of the large pyramid (JSC "MMM") - a small pyramid - is similar to another stage. These stages differ mainly in terms of duration.The development of the financial pyramid of the first group can be divided into 4 main periods: a) The first period includes the emergence of the company and the growth of its shares on the market to their maximum value. her life, the period of her "well-being". For example, for the first pyramid of MMM JSC, this period lasted from February 1994 to mid-July of the same year. For the South Seas Company, it lasted from 1711 to the summer of 1720. Mississippi Company lived during the construction period from August 1717 to the end of 1719. b) The second period represents the moment of the maximum value of the shares of the company. yes construction, does not last long. JSC "MMM" experienced this period for about two to three weeks in July 1994. The South Sea Company - about two months in the summer of 1720. The Mississippi Company - from December 1719 to January 1720, inclusive. c) The third period - the collapse of the financial pyramid. During this, as a rule, short period, the price of the company's shares collapses to its original, and sometimes even lower, value. The first pyramid of JSC "MMM" passed this period from July 26, 1994 to July 29, 1994. The collapse of the South Sea Company occurred in August-September 1720, and the collapse of the Mississippi Company - in the period from February to November 1720 d) The fourth period is the post-pyramidal period. During this period, the affected shareholders hold meetings and rallies demanding compensation for the damage suffered and punishment of the guilty (the board of the pyramid company), the government carries out arrests, various checks and often confiscation of the company's property in order to find the perpetrators and return the missing money. This is sometimes followed by the payment of compensation to shareholders. For the first pyramid of JSC "MMM" this is the period from the end of July, when the first rallies begin, until mid-October. For the South Sea Company, this is a few months after September 1720. For the Mississippi Company, November-December 1720.

Pyramids of the second group.

The pyramid of the second group can also be divided into 4 periods: ¨ 1) The first period is the period when the financial structure is not a pyramid. It can be called the non-pyramidal period, or the pre-pyramidal period. It can take quite a long time. The Panamanian company goes through this period from 1880 to 1885. And GKO and OFZ - from 1994-1995 to 1997. 2) The second period is the issue of securities and the transformation of the financial structure into a financial pyramid. It can be called the pyramidal period. The beginning of this period will be marked by a significant depletion of the financial resources of the company, the structure that pays dividends. The issue of securities is undertaken by her to improve her financial position. By the end of the pyramidal period, the financial position of the company, the structure is deteriorating, it faces the question of paying dividends on securities. The Panamanian company entered this period in 1885, and this period ended for it in the autumn of 1888. The GKO system went through this period from 1997 to the summer of 1998. 3) The third period is the collapse of the built pyramid. It is accompanied by the liquidation of the financial structure, declaring it bankrupt. For the Panama Company, this is January 1889. For the GKO system, it is August 1998. 4) The fourth period is the post-pyramidal period. It largely coincides with the post-pyramidal period of the pyramids of the first group. Its peculiarity is the lack of payment of compensation, since the monetary resources of the financial structure are depleted to zero, and compensation, as a rule, is paid from confiscated property. The post-pyramidal period of the Panama Company - a few months after February 1889. In Russia, this period was practically absent, since the collapse of the debt pyramid was accompanied by a crisis situation in the country, the freezing of most accounts, the devaluation of the ruble, rising unemployment, as a result of which measures were taken to overcome the crisis, rather than looking for someone to blame. Financial pyramids have an impact on the economic situation in the country. Their main consequence, as a rule, is a drop in the savings activity of the population, especially concerning investing money in shares and securities, due to a drop in confidence in those investment institutions. Thus, the volume of investments, which play an important role in the economy, is reduced. Here is what A. V. Anikin writes about the consequences of the collapse of the Mississippi Company of John Law in France at the beginning of the 18th century: “The collapse of the Law system had a great impact on the economy of France in the 18th century, right up to the revolution at the end of the century. The trauma received during the collapse of the Mississippi scam and the entire Lo system slowed down the development of banking and the growth of industry. Anikin describes a similar situation when he writes about the collapse of the Panama Company and its consequences: in France at the end of the century, the propensity to save is the most important factor in economic growth.” Financial pyramid schemes in Russia had similar consequences. After the events of 1994-1995, the composition of household savings changed, and the share of savings in shares and securities decreased. The desire of the population to make savings in this form has also decreased. At the same time, according to a poll by the Public Opinion Foundation in July 1997, 74.5% of those who invested in financial pyramids consider themselves to have lost money as a result of investing, and only 9.4% of those who invested in financial pyramids consider themselves to have received profits from investments. It was the previous negative investment experience, which is one of the most important factors that can influence the current choice of investment strategies by a particular household, that affected the decline in savings in securities and stocks. Another consequence of financial pyramids is the adoption of a law on their prohibition, the creation of a system for protecting the rights of depositors. In Russia, on November 4, 1994, the Federal Commission for the Securities Market of Russia (FCSM) was established, whose functions include the development of uniform standards for insurance and guarantees in the securities market, and the creation of a system for protecting the rights of depositors. The creation of the FCSM was the state's reaction to the surge in the emergence of financial pyramids. In England, in June 1720, the Soap Bubbles Act was enacted, which forbade the establishment of joint-stock companies without an official license under the threat of fines and imprisonment. This law was aimed at protecting depositors from medium-sized financial pyramids.

Thus, it is possible to follow"life" pyramids from formation to its complete collapse since the 18th century, as well as to identify their specific features.

"Pyramids" in the European economy

This part discusses the pyramids that arose in Europe in XVII-XIX centuries, how they influenced the national economy of a particular country, and a parallel is drawn with the Russian pyramids and similarities and differences between them are revealed.

South Sea Company (England, 1711-1721)

The South Sea Company was founded in 1711. When it was created, the following financial scheme was used: the holders of government bonds in the amount of about 9 million pounds sterling received shares of the South Sea Company in exchange for these papers. Thus, the company became a major creditor of the state. By an act of parliament, she was granted a monopoly on trade with the rich lands of South and Central America. The seal described the fabulous dividends that would be paid on the shares. After some time, the company undertook new financial manipulations. She offered to exchange almost the entire public debt for its shares at a market ratio of securities rates (a 100-pound share cost 125-130 pounds, and government bonds were valued at par - 100 pounds). The newspapers were convinced that Parliament would pass a law on the exchange of securities for shares, and the share price rose sharply. The law was indeed quickly passed by Parliament and signed by King George I. A few days after the entry into force of the law, the company's board announced a subscription to a new issue of 300 pounds per share. Instead of the £1 million that the board had hoped for, two were raised, and soon another issue was announced, at £400 a share, which was also very popular.

In the subsequent period, the rate continued to grow and by the summer of 1720 reached 900 pounds. But gradually the opinion began to spread that the shares had reached the ceiling, and the price had fallen to 640. By the end of August, the price artificially, through the purchase of a large number of shares by the company's agents, rose to 1000 pounds. But the company was doing poorly. An agreement was drawn up between the South Sea Company and the Bank of England, under which the bank was to come to the aid of the company. The Bank opened a subscription for £3 million in 5% bonds, which were loaned to the South Sea Company for one year. At first this release was a success, but very soon there was a twist and the subscription stopped. Depositors began to sell shares and withdraw money from the Bank of England. As a result, the share price fell to 130-135 pounds. After some time, the Bank of England refused to fulfill its obligations under the agreement, and the share price fell even lower. The collapse of the South Sea Company came. In many cities in England, meetings of shareholders were held, demanding the punishment of those responsible and the return of money. Part of the money was paid out: shareholders received £30 per hundred-pound share. Like AO MMM in Russia in the 1990s, the South Seas Company was not the only one operating in the early 18th century. on the territory of England financial pyramid. Pyramid companies were created "to make sawdust boards", to "create a perpetual motion machine, to encourage the breeding of horses in England, to improve church lands, to repair and rebuild the houses of parish priests and vicars", even a "Company to obtain consistently high profits from from an undisclosed source" All these companies ruined hundreds of people before they collapsed.

Mississippi Company (France, 1717-1720)

In August 1717, the Mississippi Company was established in France. Its head was the then-famous financier John Law. The company issued 200,000 shares of 500 livres each. At the same time, buyers could pay for shares not only with coins and banknotes, but also with government bonds, which were quoted on the market below par. Thus, the company became a creditor of the state. Almost immediately there was a feverish demand for the shares of the Mississippi Company. The following year, Lo, on behalf of the company's management, promised very large dividends. This announcement triggered an increase in demand for shares. The company announced a subscription for an additional 50,000 shares, for which 300,000 applications were submitted in a short time. Meanwhile, the price of already issued shares was steadily rising, and the company decided to issue another 300,000 shares (instead of the previously planned 50,000) and sell them at the market rate. The rate of a 500-livre share rose to 10-15 thousand, and its fluctuations from one day to another were quite high. At the same time, the money that the company collected by issuing securities was invested in the overwhelming majority in government debt bonds. The issue of securities was largely supported by the issue of notes of the Royal Bank. In the first half of 1720, depositors gradually began to withdraw from the bank its limited stock of precious metals. In February 1720, a decree was issued prohibiting the possession of coins worth more than 500 livres. A ban was also imposed on the purchase of jewelry and precious stones. After a while, the shares of the Mississippi Company began to fall. Lo tried to stop the stock price from falling, but the stock continued to depreciate. In November 1720, a decree was issued by which the company lost almost all of its privileges. After that, its shares practically lost value.

General Company of the Panama Canal (France, 1880-1889)

In 1880, the General Company of the Panama Inter-Ocean Canal was founded in France. its president and CEO became Ferdinand Lesseps. The company announced the issue of 600 thousand shares of 500 francs each, and opened a subscription for them. At the same time, the subscriber had to pay only a quarter of the value of the shares, and the company was going to demand the rest of the money as needed. The shares of the Panama Company very quickly gained great popularity among investors. The construction of the canal (for which money was collected) was started on January 1, 1881, and the opening of the canal was originally planned for 1888. amount, and the company ceded the balance at a discount to a banking syndicate that issued and placed its securities. The company began to experience financial difficulties, in addition, it turned out that many geological and climatic difficulties were not taken into account at the start of construction. In 1885, the company's board decided to improve its business by issuing a long-term winning loan. It was supposed to collect at least 600 million francs. To issue such a loan, the consent of the government and parliament was required, which the company received only three years later - in 1888. Between 1885 and 1888, the company issued two more ordinary loans, raising the interest rate to 10% per annum, in order to attract subscribers . In April 1888, a loan was approved, the maximum amount of which had by that time been increased to 720 million francs. In June 1888, a subscription was launched, which collected only 254 million. The Minister of Finance introduced a bill in the House for preferential treatment of the debts of the Panama Company, but the deputies voted against it. The Civil Court of the Seine Department first appointed temporary administrators, and on February 4, 1889, officially announced the bankruptcy and liquidation of the Panama Company. The examples given demonstrate important essential features of financial pyramids, but do not draw on the experience of financial pyramids in the history of the world economy. There were other organizations and financial systems that were financial pyramids. Among the most famous and frequently mentioned are the Tulip Fever (the first half of the 17th century Holland), the pyramid of Charles. Ponzi (early 20th century USA).

Tulip mania - a craze for tulip bulbs in the first half of the 17th century in Holland, when they became the most profitable object of stock speculation. The one who changed his mind first won. John Law is a native of Scotland who set up a bank in France that issues paper money and a company that sells colonial goods. In 1720, due to the excessive issuance of banknotes and the failure of colonial trade plans, the Law system collapsed. Soap bubbles - companies that appeared in countless numbers in England in 1720 and offered gullible citizens to buy shares based on fabulous profits. As a rule, things ended the same as the stories with MMM, Vlastilina and others.

Nevertheless, the European experience did not benefit the Russian layman, moreover, given the living conditions in which the Russian people lived (“iron curtain”and so on), they didn’t know anything about him. In my opinion, they knew they wouldn’t have allowed what happened in the mid-90s. More about Russian“financial pyramids” described in the next part.

Financial pyramids in Russia

It is said that the great pyramids slow down the passage of time. That supposedly scientists have established that things and even products placed in the pyramids stay in amazing safety for a long time. They even say that some pyramids heal, as if pulling illnesses out of a person. Although we have known for a long time that they are the best at pulling money. And that such pyramids keep only their creators. But to the delight of those affected by "MMM" - they do not keep forever.

In the mid-1990s, the Russian population faced a new phenomenon for itself at that time - financial pyramids. Then several organizations appeared at once, acting on the principle of pyramidal payments and posing as joint-stock companies: Chara, Tibet, Russian House of Selenga and others. But, of course, JSC "MMM" became the most grandiose and scandalous of them.

"MMM" managed to get the Russians to reveal such secret savings that the Tax Police would never get to. And citizens voluntarily carried all this money to the Mavrodi company. According to the Federal Fund for the Protection of the Rights of Depositors and Shareholders, licenses from the Central Bank of Russia to attract Money the company did not have. But despite this, the pyramid continued to successfully pump money out of the population for years.

It is "MMM" that first of all comes to the mind of a Russian when he hears the word "pyramid." Sergey Mavrodi created "MMM" back in 1988, shortly after his release from prison."MMM " was registered on October 20, 1992 at a branch of the Moscow Registration Chamber. And already in August 1994, Sergei Mavrodi was arrested for concealing income from the Invest-Consulting company he headed.

In the media, including on television, there is a powerful advertisement for a new joint-stock company that promises to pay the largest dividends. Soon, the share price begins to rise, and by July it rises 5 times compared to February (from 25,000 rubles per share to 125,000 rubles per share). AO "MMM" is becoming extremely popular. At the main point of JSC "MMM" (Varshavskoye shosse, 26), very soon long queues of those wishing to purchase shares begin to line up, the number of which in July reaches an average of 300-600 people, and the head of JSC "MMM" - Mavrodi, is one of the leading entrepreneurs in Russia . In July, the collapse of the financial pyramid comes: on the 29th, the share price collapses from 125 thousand to 1 thousand. On August 4, S. Mavrodi is arrested. But a week later (August 5) after the collapse of the first pyramid, new tickets of MMM JSC go on sale, and the construction of a new pyramid begins. The share price gradually begins to grow - from 500 rubles to 5 thousand rubles by mid-September. At the end of August, a collection of "voluntary donations" is announced. In mid-September 1994, a serious turning point occurs. A large batch of MMM tickets is thrown onto the market, which causes a sharp decrease in their rate and the closure of the point of sale. Panic begins among the shareholders, they begin to hand over tickets. In the last ten days of September, the ticket rate increases quite sharply. However, already on September 29, it again sharply decreases (from 7-8 thousand to 600 rubles). And on October 5, all reception points of JSC "MMM" are closed. A little earlier, on September 24, Mavrodi was approved as a candidate for elections to the State Duma. November 1, 1994 S.P. Mavrodi, elected as a deputy of the State Duma, opens points of sale and announces the introduction of a two-month“transition period”. All previously issued shares and tickets are frozen, and a new series of MMM JSC tickets is issued at the initial rate of 1,000 rubles. New tickets are being bought quite actively. Throughout November 1994, the rate of the latest issue of JSC "MMM" tickets rises quite steadily from 1,000 to 3,500 rubles. However, already on December 1, Mavrodi changed the rules of quotations, introducing a "floating" rate, determined by the short-term balance of supply and demand. As a result, the stock price quickly falls to its original level. During December, the exchange rate drops to 500 rubles. From December 20, 1994 to January 3, 1995, JSC "MMM" arranges holidays, and during this period the share price drops to 170 rubles. In the future, the rate gradually grows and by mid-March reaches a thousand-ruble mark, but on March 16-17, relatively massive changes occur, and the rate drops to 200 rubles.

March 20 Mavrodi introduces a new "stabilization regime". Tickets of a new "special series" are introduced and tickets of the previous series are frozen at the same time. At first, the rate grows, but after a sharp rise it falls again (by 4.5 times). On April 24, tickets for a new series are again introduced and all previous ones are frozen, but already on May 4, the rate of tickets for a new series drops by 4 times. On May 10, 1995, a series of "preferred tickets" is introduced, with fixed quotations and sales limits. Operations with tickets of previous series, frozen until June 20, will not be resumed within the specified period. The activity around the points of sale of JSC MMM is gradually fading away: the financial pyramid is ending. The number of victims of the financial game of JSC "MMM" in Russia is estimated by experts from 5 to 24 million, but no one knows the real number of victims. It should be noted that ordinary investors, including pensioners and the disabled, became the shareholders of MMM JSC. And it is these population groups that have suffered the most.

Wherever Sergei Mavrodi was hiding, he did it very well. Until January 2003, law enforcement agencies could not get on his trail. By that time, many of his colleagues in the pyramids had already been on trial. Thus, the head of the financial pyramid "Tibet" Vladimir Dryamov was sentenced to 15 years in prison. The founders of the financial pyramid "Selenga Russian House" Alexander Salomadin and Sergey Gruzin were sentenced to nine years in prison each with a term in a penal colony. And the head of Vlastelina, Valentina Solovieva, managed during this time to serve her five years in a colony by a court decision and again go into the same business, retaining all the same architectural predilections. In the city of Podolsk near Moscow, she established a kind of CJSC Interline, which sells cars and operates on the principle of a pyramid. Mavrodi Jr., Vyacheslav, and even Sergei Mavrodi's wife, Elena, also came under court. Sergei himself was put on the international wanted list. However, nothing was heard of him, although they seemed to be looking for him very diligently. In September 1997, the Moscow Arbitration Court declared MMM bankrupt. The damage caused by MMM to millions of depositors was then estimated at $100 million. In 1998, the Investigative Committee of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation combined all the materials related to the activities of JSC "MMM" into one production and created a single investigative team. Over the years, the magic power of "MMM" has waned. At first, apparently, the pyramid began to pull out money worse, and then the protection provided by the design to its creator also weakened.

On February 3, Russian media reported that former MMM depositors had a chance to get their money back. On that day, the Investigative Committee under the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia asked the former investors of MMM and the company's subsidiaries to send statements to the committee about the damage caused to them. To recognize them as injured citizens, they must also provide photocopies of all documents defining financial relations with the companies of the MMM group - checks, tickets, certificates.

As mentioned above "MMM" not the only pyramid operating in Russia. In 1992, the Russian House of Selenga was registered in Volgograd - a company that became the "progenitor" of thousands of financial pyramids. The main objective of the company was to invest capital in large industrial facilities and create their own financial empire.

In 1992-1994, the "Tibet Concern" launched an aggressive advertising campaign to attract depositors. During this time, the company owned by Dryamov entered into loan agreements with 200 thousand Russian citizens. He fraudulently deprived depositors of 17 billion 344 million non-denominated rubles

In 1994, the head of "Tibet" disappeared and was put on the international wanted list. He was later arrested by Greek law enforcement for petty theft at a supermarket. A Greek court sentenced Dryamov to a year in prison. In March 1998, he was extradited to Russian law enforcement agencies. During the investigation, the guilt of Vladimir Dryamov in committing fraud on a large scale was established, which was confirmed by the court.

Another company, Khoper, followed in the footsteps of RDS (it was advertised on television by the cabaret duo Academy). Millions of dollars of depositors were smuggled into Israel.

"Investment company "Khoper-invest" was established in 1993 in Volgograd, and in 1994 its office was registered in Moscow. Founders"Khopra" - Leah Konstantinova, her son Leo, a relative of the Konstantinovs-Tagir Abbazov, Volgograd businessman Oleg Suzdaltsev. Branches of "Khopra" functioned in 70 Russian regions. The company included about 50 different structures: check funds, Insurance companies, related OJSC, LLP, "and others.

According to statistics, defrauded depositors, there were over four million people. It was the largest financial pyramid in Russia. Judging by the papers, from 1993 to 1997 Khoper attracted over three trillion "old" rubles, about $500 million at the 1997 exchange rate.
All the funds that investors brought to Khoper (with the exception of funds for current expenses and small interest payments on shares) were sent abroad by the Konstantinovs. Either in cash or under fictitious contracts through foreign banks: Moscow People's Bank in London, approximately $ 20 million went through Bank of New York , then the funds settled on coded accounts in Israeli banks. The rest of the money was taken to Israel in "black cash" in suitcases.
Until the moment the money crossed the border in suitcases, they were deposited in bank cells or kept at Lev Konstantinov's house.
After the collapse of other financial pyramids, there were real estate, shares of existing enterprises that could be sold and partially returned money to investors. After "Khopra" there was nothing left - everything was exported in cash abroad. Although the Khoper company has been involved in various criminal cases since 1994, the reason for the arrest of the four accused appeared only in 1997, after numerous audits of all Khoper structures.

GKO system (1994-1998)

The era of financial pyramids ended in 1994-1995, but just three years after the end of mass pyramid building, another financial pyramid collapsed, this time built by the state. In 1994-1995, the Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation switched to financing the deficit by issuing treasury bills (GKO) with a maturity of 3 and 6 months and federal loan bonds (OFZ) with a maturity of one to three years - instead of direct borrowing from the Central Bank and the issue of money. At first, this measure had a positive effect. However, soon the state of the economy and finances of the country led to the abuse of this tool. In the fall of 1997, foreign investors, who by that time had a significant share of securities in their hands, began to sell government securities, which threatened to deplete foreign exchange reserves Central Bank and undermining the exchange rate of the ruble against foreign currencies. As a result, the Central Bank used its only effective weapon - raising the refinancing interest rate. In autumn 1998, it reached 150% per annum. The increase in the refinancing interest rate caused an overall increase interest rates, including the yield on government securities. The state debt pyramid has grown. In 1997 and in the first half of 1998, the federal budget became subject to the task of paying interest on the public debt. Between January and July 1998, federal budget expenditures on interest payments accounted for more than 60% of all tax revenues, and each new issue of these obligations had to be made on terms of more than high percentage. A situation has developed in which new issues of securities not only did not give money to the budget, but themselves absorbed budget revenues. In August 1998, the crisis hit.

In the late 90s, the builders of financial pyramids in Russia got a second wind. Again, as in the early 90s, people give away their money under dubious guarantees to people they did not know yesterday. In the ways of taking money from the population, today's swindlers have significantly outperformed their colleagues of the first wave. They prefer to operate in small Russian cities. Crowds of thousands who besieged the main office"MMM " you won't see it anymore. Now people accept money in a quiet and calm atmosphere. Let's try to see how this happens.

It all started with the fact that in a calm provincial town, for example, in Bryansk, Perm or Izhevsk, a person was invited to attend a meeting of an elite business club. As a rule, such an offer came from someone they used to trust - a relative or friend. At the meeting, a person was immediately surrounded by well-dressed and self-confident people. If you want to get rich, join our club, they said. The so-called crowd effect has long been studied and successfully used by swindlers. A person often unexpectedly begins to imitate others. From the very beginning, he is drawn into a carefully crafted scenario.

Soft music plays in the lobby. Tea, coffee and cake are offered before the meeting. For all invitees - absolutely free. Tea and coffee were given to those gathered not out of a sense of hospitality. As expert studies have shown, in many cases, psychotropic substances were mixed into drinks. They helped the cause - a person became excited and self-confident, easily parted with money. To get such drugs, in general, is not difficult. The musical accompaniment was also carefully considered. An employee of the organization was sitting at the sound console of a conference room or cinema - waiting for the moment when people would begin to doubt whether to put their signature or not. And as soon as people received documents, music was turned on in the hall. At full volume.

The confiscated CDs sent for examination from all over Russia led to a certain unambiguous result. The conclusions of the experts are as follows: the music played in the halls during the session is specific. Frequencies are superimposed on the melody, almost inaudible, but causing incomprehensible anxiety just when it is necessary to make a decision. In its purest form, you can hear them only on a specialist's computer. People were told: pay an entrance fee, about a thousand dollars, and you yourself will be able to earn money on those who join after you. Become as successful as we are. The team of those who had already given away their savings felt almost like one family.

This continued until the last in the chain realized that they had been deceived. Hundreds of people all over Russia got into debt and lost money.

Currently, the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia is in favor of toughening criminal liability for the organization of "financial pyramids". Interior Minister Boris Gryzlov ordered the creation of a working group of representatives of departments of the ministry, which will develop appropriate proposals. According to the Ministry of Internal Affairs, over the past 9 years, about 500 thousand people have become victims of "financial pyramids" in Russia. In total, they lost 9.5 billion rubles and almost 240 million dollars. During this period, 324 criminal cases on "financial pyramids" were initiated and investigated. Currently, 52 of them are suspended in connection with the search for suspects.

More than ten years have passed since the financial pyramids ended their inglorious march across the country. However, until now, in our everyday life, words from television commercials glorifying the fastest way to enrichment: "I'm not a freeloader, I'm a partner!", "I'll buy boots for my wife," "A good increase in pension."

Thus, another gloomy page of our history turned over, teaching someone a lesson for life, and teaching someone nothing, but one way or another, the pyramids left a deep imprint in our minds.

Conclusion

The financial pyramid is a specific phenomenon economic development. The history of financial pyramids can be traced back to the 17th-18th centuries. The period of mass pyramid building 1994-1995. in Russia is not a unique case in economic practice. Russian financial pyramids only continued the history of this phenomenon. The emergence of domestic pyramids was not unexpected from the point of view of the situation that had formed by that time. As an analysis of the world experience in the emergence and development of financial pyramids in Russia shows, by 1994 conditions were established that are standard prerequisites for the emergence of financial pyramids (the formation of the securities market, investment activity of the population, shortcomings in legislative regulation, etc.). However, the era of financial pyramids 1994-1995. had a number of features. One of the main ones was a negative attitude towards the state and the government as a result of the events previous years and a rather high level of inflation, which contributed to the emergence and successful functioning of financial pyramids. feature Russian economy It was also that the state unwittingly acted as the builder of one of the pyramids. The consequences of pyramid building also turned out to be very serious for Russia. Their influence continues to affect the economic situation in the country until now. At the same time, the consequences of the financial pyramids that Russia has faced are not completely unique and are similar to their consequences in other countries. But we can talk about the features of these consequences, expressed in the degree of duration of the period of influence and the depth of the decline in public confidence in financial and investment institutions. According to experts, the Russian population has demonstrated the ability to quickly adapt. It has “survived” (or rather “survives”, since the process takes place in the present time) the negative consequences of pyramid schemes faster than it has happened in history. The appearance of a financial pyramid can be predicted with a fairly high degree of probability, through an analysis of the conditions conducive to their occurrence. Of course, the past experience of financial pyramids creates barriers to their emergence, both because of the adoption of relevant legislation, and because of the emergence of “immunity” among investors and the population. But the financial markets modern world are developing rapidly, new financial instruments and technical capabilities are emerging that allow using the technology of building financial pyramids again. Thus, the possibility of the emergence of financial pyramids in the future remains, in countries that have previously encountered the experience of financial pyramids in their historical development. This is confirmed by numerous attempts to build pyramidal structures with the help of the Internet (and absolutely everyone who has at least some idea of ​​\u200b\u200bthe pyramids is building), while such attempts, due to the global nature of the computer network, already go beyond national borders and create additional difficulties for them. prevention. I will not dwell on this in my opinion global problem affecting the whole world, since this is a topic of a separate, no less interesting conversation, and it has a larger and more international character.

Bibliography

1. Anikin A.V. History of financial turmoil. From John Law to Sergei Kiriyenko.//:M. CJSC "Olimp-Business", 2000.

2. Research group ZIRCON: Financial activity of the population of Russia in 1995-2001//: “Exclusive marketing.” 2001/ 3(24)

3. Kuzina O.E. Illusions of rationality: the influence of collective ideas on the investment behavior of depositors of "financial pyramids"//“Questions of sociology.” 1998/8

4. Kuzina O.E. Building Trust in Mass Investment Behavior.//“Sociological journal.” 1999/1-2.

5. McKay C. The most common misconceptions and madness of the crowd.//:M. Publishing House "Alpina" 1998.

6. Radaev V.V. The Return of the Crowd: An Analysis of the Behavior of Pyramid Depositors// Questions of Sociology.” 1998/8.

7. Economic analysis of regulations.//:Ed. Tambovtseva V.L. Ch. 2.8. Federal Commission for the Securities Market of Russia: idea and practice. M.TEIS, 2001

Sites used :

forum.finanster.ru

Hammer.prohosting.ru

katesunberry.narod.ru

Hello! Today we’ll talk about financial pyramids so that you know what it is, how it works and don’t fall for such “earning money” schemes in your life.

The market economy is characterized by freedom of enterprise and choice of the way of doing business. For any businessman, the main goal of his business is to make a profit. Money is the universal measure of performance evaluation. The functioning of a legitimate business is based on the production, sale or resale of goods, the provision of services and other schemes. There is such a term as financial pyramids. Most often, although not always, these are deliberately created fraudulent models for obtaining money by their creators.

What is a financial pyramid

In economic terms, a financial pyramid is an organized scheme for generating income by its participants by attracting funds from new participants. That is, people entering the pyramid today "provide" those who came there before. Or all the money can be accumulated by one person - the organizer.

An ordinary layman will immediately remember the financial pyramid MMM in Russia in the early 90s, which ended in a loud crash with thousands of affected people. Indeed, in most cases they disguise themselves as investment, charitable funds, companies with goods that have no real value, or simply promise to make money out of thin air.

However, the classical scheme of doing business can lead to a financial pyramid. This happens when the owner miscalculates profitability and the company goes at a loss or barely covers the cost. It is not possible to return the money taken on credit or attracted from investors. To support the business, new loans are taken to pay off the old debtors. It is incorrect to interpret this as fraud, this situation is closer to the concept of illegal business.

Fraudsters often use this loophole, carefully covering financial pyramids in order to evade responsibility. A business can bring little profit, but if the surplus value (the result of the company's work) is systematically less than income payments, then this project is a financial pyramid. In fact, most of the profit in this case is cash from new investors.

To designate a fraudulent scheme, this expression has been used in England since the early 70s. last century, although financial pyramids originated much earlier. The first company operating under the scheme of a financial pyramid is the joint-stock company (JSC) "Organization of India" by John Law. According to the plan, she was supposed to invest the funds raised in the development of the Mississippi River. In fact, the investments were minimal, and the enterprising Scot directed most of the proceeds to the purchase of government bonds. In fact, he paid off all of France's foreign debts. Lo promised that the shares bought today would rise in price soon. Because of the hype, six months later, the cost of one paper exceeded the original one by several times. France was forced to issue more and more paper money. When the volume money supply became huge, and the price of shares rose to unprecedented proportions, this pyramid collapsed. Commodity prices rose sharply and paper money was not accepted as payment.

Subsequently, financial pyramids began to periodically appear in other countries. He organized a large fraudulent scheme related to coupons in 1919. in the US Charles Ponzi. It was the first analogue of the modern one-level pyramid. It collapsed because coupons could not be sold for cash, but could only be exchanged. Payments to the first participants came from the next newcomers. In Russia, the pyramid boom came during the transition period to the market in the early 1990s, when Sergei Mavrodi's famous JSC MMM was created.

Financial pyramid schemes are prohibited in many countries (Canada, Mexico, Germany, Italy, Kazakhstan, Poland, etc.), including Russia (Article 172.2 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation). In the UAE and China, even the death penalty is provided for the construction of such a structure. If the country does not have a separate article for pyramid schemes, then such fraud can qualify as illegal business.

Reasons for the emergence of financial pyramids

The emergence of financial pyramids is due to a number of changes in the economy and state policy. Basic prerequisites:

• free securities market;
• the activities of such structures are not regulated by law;
• improving the standard of living of the population;
• moderate inflation and stable economic growth;
• the country's transition to a market economy;
• the emergence of various financial institutions offering both to keep their savings and increase them;
• lack of reliable information and illiteracy of the population in financial matters.

The essence of the financial pyramid

The main goal of such a scheme is to enrich the organizers of the pyramid due to the influx of new people. It is possible that those who immediately entered the first ranks and then withdrew their money on time will remain in profit. The contributions of the participants are not invested anywhere and go to reward the upper levels, that is, those people who invited them and others higher above them along the entire chain of the pyramid. Accordingly, if the current investor also invites people, he will receive his income from them, etc. In some models, some product may be present to cover the “business”, but the essence of this does not change: the profit in the pyramid is obtained through investments new members.

The distribution of the funds of the joining members occurs according to different schemes. The principle of the financial pyramid is as many newcomers as possible. But when the flow of depositors decreases and there is nothing to pay the promised money, the pyramid collapses. The fact is that the number of people on our planet has a finite value. Not everyone has a chance to get their hard-earned money back, not to mention the promised interest. The last ones who entered their money are unlikely to see it. Organizers can hold on to payments for some time, and then collect all available savings and hide.

How does a pyramid scheme work?

There are many variations of fraudulent pyramid schemes. The essence remains unchanged, but the ways to "splurge" the ordinary citizen are becoming more sophisticated. Consider 2 illustrative examples:

	Example 1	Example 2
Stage 1	The organizers are running an advertising campaign to grow flowers, mushrooms, exotic plants, etc. at home. People are invited to buy seeds and make some kind of “entry fee”. The total amount is 4 thousand rubles. In 3–4 months, the company promises to buy the seedlings for 8,000 rubles.	The organization presents itself as an investment fund. You need to invest at least 5 thousand rubles. It is necessary to invite 4 more people to the project and then you can get your profit in the amount of 10 thousand rubles. With the entry of the first 6 people, the company's profit at this stage is 25 thousand rubles.
Stage 2	Rumors about this are quickly spreading among the population, and there is no end to those who wish. Seeds are actively bought up, and the first ones to enter are already receiving their profit. It's actually money from new customers.	Each of the 6 participants invites 4 people who also contribute 5 thousand rubles. The company already has: 25 + 6 * 4 * 5 = 145 thousand rubles. Of these, she pays the first participants: 10 * 6 = 60 thousand rubles. The company's profit will be 145-60=85 thousand rubles.
Stage 3	At some point, the "boom" on this idea passes and there are fewer and fewer new members of the pyramid. The organizers disappear without a trace with all the money. It turns out that the plants are ordinary and not worth the declared money. Therefore, many people do not receive either the promised profit or the invested funds.	Participants of the second level also invite 4 people who invest 5 thousand rubles each. The company already has 85 + 24 * 4 * 5 = 565 thousand rubles in its hands. Of these, she pays off with the second investors: 10 * 24 = 240 thousand rubles. The company's profit will be 565-240 = 325 thousand rubles. The growth of the pyramid will be exponential (geometric progression, when the growth rate is proportional to the number of participants). There will come a time when newcomers will no longer be able to find new members. The pyramid is collapsing and the organizers are "skimming the cream".

These descriptions are presented in a simplified form. There are complex intricate schemes with the presence of a real product and very similar to network marketing, which is a legal business. Financial pyramids live only due to the influx of new people: there are no other sources of income payment. The collapse of any such organization is inevitable.

Perhaps, within a few months after the start of work, the company begins to feel a "deficit" of new members. At the same time, liabilities are growing, and there is often panic among depositors. They massively begin to sell "securities" if any. Or impulsively decide to withdraw their investments. And if someone says that he was able to make money on the pyramid, it means that he was among the first, or at least in the middle. The top (organizers) in any case will earn more. Sooner or later, a huge number of participants will be "thrown", leaving them without money.

In order not to fall for the bait of scammers, you need to know the main signs of financial pyramids. It happens that a person knows about such schemes, but skillful psychological influence and misinformation leads him to the decision to invest his hard-earned money. Signs by which it is highly likely that a business proposal is a financial pyramid:

1. High interest and fast payback period. Yields above 30% should already alert. There aren't many legitimate ways to make that kind of profit, and the ones that do exist are all medium to high risk. If a company promises to pay back the project in a few months or even weeks, then a logical question arises: why is it looking for investors among ordinary people, and not among big businessmen and experienced investors?
2. Large entry fee. More often within 5-20 thousand rubles. However, then the deceived person is unlikely to go to court for this money. This sign is not always clearly expressed.
3. In return for the money invested, a person can receive goods at an inflated cost and not corresponding to the declared characteristics or counterfeit securities. Documents confirming the receipt of funds are not issued or a person is given an agreement indicating that if the investment strategy does not work, then the invested funds cannot be returned.
4. The company's focus is on PR. Impressive presentations, product know-how, a beautifully designed website, persuasive salespeople, mailing lists and sms - all aimed at reaching a large number of people. There are slogans like "Hurry up to be among the first!", "Hurry up and buy a device that has no analogues in the world!". At the same time, advertising is blurred: a specific product or method of obtaining income from participation in the project is not indicated.
5. Concealment of information about the owners of the enterprise, lack of a license and permits for the right to engage in financial activities. However, all this may be the case if the company is registered as a figurehead or registered far abroad. If there is no company at all, and a person is invited to an office where only money is exchanged, this is definitely a financial pyramid.
6. Unusual and incomprehensible reward plan. The abundance of information, complex terms and overly optimistic forecasts should alert.
7. Indirectly or directly they talk about the need to involve their relatives and friends in the project. At the same time, they offer to learn special psychological techniques or methods of neurolinguistic programming (NLP).
8. Excessive perseverance of the organizers. Persuading a person to make a decision and give money "here and now", the requirement to sign a non-disclosure agreement and the promise of easy money for minimal effort.

Types of financial pyramids

All fraudulent pyramidal schemes are divided into 3 types according to their structure. Sometimes there are assurances from the organizers that they have created a completely new project. However, upon its detailed examination, the scheme will belong to one of the three types known today.

One-level (Ponzi scheme) pyramids

The Ponzi scheme (Ponzi) is one of the most common and uncomplicated types of financial pyramids. It got its name from the name of a famous Italian who first organized a massive deception of the population.

The creator attracts the first participants with high interest and guaranteed income in a short time. Each joiner is not required to involve other people. He can pay the first profit to investors from his own funds. When this project becomes more popular and the number of participants increases, money is shifted - the organizer pays the old participants with the funds of the new ones. The number of applicants to join is steadily growing and many are reinvested.

Of course, there is no declared activity in this pyramid. It can represent itself as an investment, charitable project, mutual aid fund, etc. For a certain time, the game of “bag” continues. There comes a period when obligations to depositors grow, and the influx of new participants decreases. The organizer winds down the activity and hides along with all the money.

Schematically, such a pyramid looks like this:

In the center is the organizer of the financial pyramid. Contributors are marked with small circles:

• 1 queue;
• 2 turns;
• 3 turns;
• 4 turns .

The lifespan of such a pyramid depends on its popularity. Most often, such schemes live from 4 months to 2 years. About 80-90% of depositors remain at a loss. Examples of financial pyramids of this type: the first JSC "MMM" S. Mavrodi, investment company B. Madoff, "iPhone" pyramid in 2011. in Moscow, B. Tannenbaum's project for investments in anti-AIDS drugs, Vlastilina, Khoper-Invest.

Multilevel financial pyramids

Each entrant pays an entrance fee. This money is distributed among the upper levels of the pyramid: the participant who invited him and several higher ones. After that, the new investor must bring several people to the pyramid (usually from 2 to 5). In an explicit or implicit form, they explain to him that in order to make money in the project, it is precisely new participants that are needed. From them, he will begin to receive money, that is, to recoup his investments and make a profit.

In essence, this is a simple shifting of money, just like in a Ponzi scheme. As the depth grows, the number of participants grows very quickly and after 10-15 levels it will make up the entire population of the whole country. It is obvious that lower level investors will lose their money, as there will come a time when there will be no one to invite. Such people make up 85-90% of the entire financial pyramid. At this time, the organizer closes the project, taking the maximum amount of money from it.

Schematically, this structure looks like this:

Such organizations do not last long. The collapse (scam) of the pyramid occurs in 2-6 months. To increase this period, the organizers rename the name of the pyramid and move to another city to continue the "work". Many go into virtual space for better disguise. Examples of such companies: MMM-2011, MMM-2012, Binar, Talk Fusion.

Matrix financial pyramids

These schemes are a complicated modification of multi-level pyramids. There is usually a real commodity (eg gold, silver, weight loss kit, etc.) although there may be a fictitious "entrepreneurial education system" that costs money. These organizations belong to the new financial pyramids and many people sincerely believe that these are investments.

Let us illustrate the scheme of operation of such a structure using the example of Emgoldex:

When joining, a new participant under No. 4 invests 540 Euro, enters the matrix and waits for the entire level to be filled. Next, the matrix is ​​divided into 2 of the same, the person rises to a higher level and must bring 2 people to fill in part of the lower level. Perhaps the participant number 3 on the left who invited him will promise that he himself will find people instead of him. The investor under No. 1 receives his reward - 7 thousand rubles. Euro (minus commission) in the form of a purchased gold bar, which he can sell back to the company. In fact, 14 people chip in for a “gift” for one.

When dividing the matrices (in Emgoldex they are called “tables”), the participants gradually move towards their “top”. Participant No. 1 opens a new table and enters the lowest level. Accordingly, new participants are needed to fill in the matrices. The very purchase of gold in an online store is legal, but the mechanism for collecting money and making a profit is a financial pyramid. As long as there are newcomers, the system will work.

The Emgoldex company itself is registered in Germany, the purchase of gold is carried out in Dubai. Beliefs that gold is rapidly growing in price and that this is what brings good interest to the investor is not supported by real facts. By all indications, this is a clever way to launder money abroad. After all, as the number of people who entered, there will be more and more tables. And the time will come when there will be no one to fill them.

It is worth noting that in the matrix pyramids the conditions for receiving remuneration are vague: you have to wait until the full matrix is ​​​​typed, and when this happens and whether it happens at all, the company does not guarantee. Therefore, they function longer than other types of pyramids. But the X-hour will come for them too. Most investors will remain at a loss.

Comparison of the characteristics of all 3 types of financial pyramids is presented in the table:

	single level	Multilevel	matrix
Structure	The center of interaction is the organizer. It accepts deposits and pays interest up to a certain time.	There is no single center. Each participant is in contact with their higher levels. The organizer supervises only the first people and monitors the activity of the pyramid.	The center of interaction in the matrices is 1–2 active participants. Subsequently, they can easily "forget" about the newcomer if he does not bring new people.
Source of return	A “profitable” business opportunity, investment or charity project.	New member contributions only. Masking by direct sales is possible to confuse the scheme.	New member contributions only. Complicated schemes with the purchase of real goods serve to "cheat" new participants.
The life cycle of a pyramid	It can be long, it all depends on the ingenuity of the organizer and his ability to convince	Short as the number of participants is growing rapidly	It can be long, as the company does not promise exact terms for filling in the matrices

The advent of the World Wide Web provided new opportunities for the creation and development of pyramids. The geography of coverage of potential participants has increased significantly, and material costs for advertising have decreased. Tracking the movement of money through electronic payment systems is more difficult. Registration of sites often takes place on fictitious persons or in such a way that the owner’s data is not “exposed”. This makes it difficult to find a virtual fraudster and bring him to justice.

The largest financial pyramid in the Stock Generation network was organized by S. Mavrodi. Under the guise of gambling in this pyramid, shares of virtual companies were traded. The scenario was somewhat reminiscent of the MMM project, however, on the website for many such companies there was a caveat: prices can go both up and down. This "game" worked for 2 years, the victims number from 300 thousand people to several million.

Mavrodi's MMM-2011 and MMM-2012 projects are also large-scale. A virtual currency "Mavro" was invented, the purchase and sale of which was carried out in the first project through the leaders of the levels - foremen, centurions, thousanders, etc. In the second project (called the "mutual aid fund"), the participants themselves directly settled the accounts. When the influx of deposits began to decline, delays in payments began to be noted, cases of theft of money from the system and the pyramids were closed. Mavrodi announced a restart several times, but there was no longer any confidence in him and the scale of the following projects was much smaller.

Among active Internet users, the NewPro pyramid is known, offering to buy a key for 99 rubles and attract 3 newbies. Next, a second level key is bought. However, reaching the coveted level 28 is unrealistic. This will require more than 20 trillion people. Pyramids with a similar structure: SuperProgik, Power MLM, MoneyTrain.

Among the variety of online pyramids, HYIPs and seven “magic” wallets stand out in separate categories.

HYIPs are also pyramids

High-yield investment projects under the financial pyramid scheme are HYIPs (hype projects). They justify their interest by investing in shares, mutual funds, trust management, but they can simply remain silent about their activities. There is an opinion that investing in HYIPs is one of the most profitable types of income with proper investment. On the Internet, you can even find articles where experienced participants in these projects talk about the correct investment strategy in order to “leave the game in time” before the hype closes and at the same time earn money.

In essence, all online pyramids go through the same lifecycle stages as their offline counterparts. Money is transferred from the pockets of some to the pockets of others, and no other activity is carried out. Therefore, there are people who really make a profit from such investments. But you need to understand that this happens at the expense of other participants, whose total contributions are always greater.

There are websites of venture companies - investments with a high level of risk - companies that are really engaged in investing money in risky and high-yield financial instruments (such as Forex). In contrast, HYIPs have the following features:

• colorful design of the resource and excessive advertising about the need for investments and a guarantee of return;
• profitability is promised at 0.5–10% per day, which is an unreasonably high rate, however, there are projects that offer 15% per month and this feature is not applicable to them;
• fictitious objects of investment or their absence;
• there are no company data (address, phone number, management), licenses, official registration and other documents, or they may be fictitious;
• a complicated scheme for generating income, the essence of the project is not clearly clear.

For financial transactions, HYIPs offer participants electronic payment systems perfect money, Bitcoin, Payeer, Qiwi and a number of others that do not require personal identification. Most HYIPs do not work with WebMoney. By income level, all HYIP projects are divided into 3 categories:

• Low-yielding financial pyramids. They exist from 1.5 to 3 years and offer relatively low rates - up to 15% per annum per month (up to 0.5% per day). They are characterized by a well-thought-out pyramidal scheme and large-scale advertising. Very similar to legitimate investment programs associated with asset management.
• Mid-income financial pyramids. They exist from 6 months to 1 year and offer a yield of 15–60% per annum per month (up to 3% per day). They are quickly untwisted, but they also reach the peak of popularity very soon.
• Highly profitable financial pyramids. They work 2-5 weeks and offer rates above 60% per month (over 3% daily). They have aggressive intrusive advertising like “Sign up soon and get a lot of money!”, “Hurry up, such rates are only for 1 month!”. They close unexpectedly and try to attract as many new investors as possible.

In addition to the organizers of such projects themselves, so-called referrals play an important role in the system. They spread the word about the new project and encourage netizens to become a member. The success of the project largely depends on their actions. The creators of HYIPs work with these "agents" through affiliate programs, that is, they charge "refers" a certain percentage of investors' deposits. The distributors themselves are trying to advertise the HYIP project in social networks, forums and blogs in more detail and in more detail. Often, investors are offered to agitate the hype themselves and participate in the referral program. This gives maximum promotion among online investors and a large influx of money.

For a certain time, the HYIP has been successfully functioning, and some of the investors receive the promised interest due to the growing popularity of the project. But there comes a time when the volume of cash payments begin to exceed the volume of cash receipts. HYIP closes (scams) and all the money remains with the organizers.

Magic wallets - an ordinary financial pyramid

A potential participant is invited to send a small amount (within 10-70 rubles) to seven electronic wallets in the WebMoney or Yandex-money system. After that, delete one top wallet, enter your own and post a message on 100-200 forums, message boards, sites where people are looking for work. It is believed that if everything is done correctly, the money will “fall out of the bag” because the following participants will send money to your wallet and also begin to promote information. In fact, this is an ordinary financial pyramid, moreover, uncontrolled.

There is no guarantee that the person who “pecked” at this will not write down their wallet numbers in order to “squeeze out” more for themselves. But even if all participants follow the instructions and only 5 people respond to the massive spam, the pyramid will grow to a gigantic size. These 5 participants will also attract 5 newcomers each, and the total earnings of the first person in theory will be 600–900 thousand rubles. By this time, there will be about 98 thousand participants in the pyramid. This figure is growing exponentially: after 2 levels, 2–3 million people will need to connect, then several tens of millions, then trillions, etc. It is clear that the entire population of the planet will cover only a few levels of such a pyramid.

Payment systems are actively fighting such messages up to blocking the wallet. Financial monitoring and security services track such spam and identify pyramid schemes within a few days.

Financial pyramids in Russia (list)

The first pyramids came to Russia after the collapse of the USSR. JSC "MMM" became one of the largest and most famous. The company issued shares in large volumes (about 27 million) and tickets (about 72 million). Investors were promised 500-1000% per annum. Powerful propaganda in the media led 10-15 million people into this financial pyramid. No documents were given to people. These "papers" were not allowed into free circulation, only the company itself could buy them back. The course of shares and tickets was set by the organizer S. Mavrodi himself.

Due to the hype, their cost increased rapidly and reached 125 thousand rubles. per share. In fact, these papers were not worth that much money. Rumors spread among investors about Mavrodi's problems with paying taxes and illegal business. The panic that began led to a sharp drop (more than 100 times) in the value of shares and tickets. In fact, they have become depreciated "paper". The office of JSC "MMM" was stormed by law enforcement agencies. Mavrodi was arrested and sentenced to 4.5 years in prison. In total, he managed to earn about 3 billion rubles. Subsequently, this man created other pyramids.

In addition to MMM, major financial pyramid schemes in the 90s and 2000s were:

• "Vlastilina";
• "Russian House of the Selenga";
• "Tibet";
• "Khoper-invest";
• "Rubin" ("SAN").

The number of victims in them was in the millions, the lost amounts of depositors ranged from several million to trillions of rubles. As a result, almost all the organizers received real terms of imprisonment, and only a few managed to escape.

Despite this, financial pyramids continued to exist in Russia. This is explained primarily by the desire of people to get "free" money, their gullibility and greed. The development of the Internet has also played an important role. Participation in such roulette is comparable to playing in a casino: someone will get a “piece of the pie”, but the owners will earn in any case, and most players will lose.

New financial pyramids include:

• SuperPiggy Bank;
• Eleurus;
• GO-Partner$
• MMM-2012
• MMM-2016;
• SuperProgik;
• Give1 Get4;
• SETinBOX;
• Recyclix;
• Credex and a number of others.

For the organization of pyramids in Russia, along with criminal penalties, administrative responsibility has been introduced (Article 14.62 of the Code of Administrative Offenses).

Financial pyramids and network marketing

With the development of the industry (MLM-business), financial pyramids increasingly began to disguise themselves as it.

The fact is that a multi-level structure can be found both in fraudulent schemes and in legal business.

But a closer look reveals significant differences. The network business is absolutely legal (according to the decision of the US court in 1979 against Amway) and is based on the creation of a network of consultants (distributors) to promote goods from the manufacturer to the buyer. Comparison of signs is presented in the table:

sign	Financial pyramid	Network marketing
What is the entry fee for?	Fully or almost completely for payments to the upper levels of the pyramid, that is, to people who entered earlier	To receive a starter set of products for a consultant, training materials, brochures. In some companies, a certain amount (20-30% of the contribution) goes to reward sponsors (upper levels).
Product Detail	Unclaimed, fake or overpriced	Quality products that people buy from time to time (usually cosmetics, cleaning products, dietary supplements, etc.). The largest players in the MLM business have a rather large assortment and may include durable goods (filters, dishes, clothes).
What the company offers	Unreasonably high interest rates in a short period of time. They may promise low interest rates, but do not mention the exact return on investment. The entry fee is often large. It is said that there is practically no need to work.	Part-time employment with a free schedule and, as a result, a small increase in the main income. In the future, it is possible to create a passive source of income (with a large and stable turnover), but this will not happen quickly. The amount of profit directly depends on the work of the consultant.
Source of income	Entry fees for new members. The product serves only to cover up a fraudulent scheme.	The turnover structure of each consultant. The price of goods includes the profit of distributors (15–25%), which is distributed throughout the network. Simply connecting people without buying goods does not give anything. At the same time, the remuneration plan is designed in such a way that it is possible to get ahead of the higher levels in terms of income.
Company profile	Official documents are concealed, forged or made for a figurehead who is far away. Information on websites is blurry and illogical.	All activities are carried out openly, many network companies have their own websites with detailed information (product properties, address, company phone number, trainings, etc.)
Behavior of people agitating to join the company	Obsessive beliefs, emphasis on advertising and quick money. They demand to immediately give the money and often without submitting supporting documents (checks, credit orders).	A calm story about this type of business, an emphasis on personal consumption of products, studying the action and purpose of each product, mastering sales skills, making presentations, and communicating with people. A beginner can think before doing a network business (usually they give 2-3 days).

What to do if you have already invested in a pyramid scheme?

First of all, you should calm down and soberly assess the situation. First you need to contact the office of the company where you gave the money or to the person who invited you. The chances of getting your hard-earned money back increase if you have documents confirming the receipt or transfer of money.

If you refuse to return, hint to the scammers that you plan to contact the police and the prosecutor's office. And if this does not help, then immediately contact these authorities. It is recommended that you provide detailed information about the scammers: the external signs of people, what product, what they promise, the name of the organization, the address of the office, etc. There is a possibility that by the time the law enforcement agencies begin to take action, “businessmen” may hide.

Despite the illegality, financial pyramids will continue to be created, trapping gullible citizens. To recognize them, you need a cold calculation and understanding of the essence of the operation of pyramidal schemes.

The expert spoke about how modern fraudulent schemes work.

According to surveys by the Central Bank of the Russian Federation, about one million Russians placed investments in microfinance organizations. At the same time, hundreds of such MFIs work illegally, in addition, the number of shadow companies that attract funds from citizens, counting on their poor financial literacy, continues to grow.

This year, 120 financial pyramids were closed in Russia, in the past - 200. This scheme is more than 300 years old, during one of the first pyramid schemes, the South Sea Company, Isaac Newton and the author of Gulliver's Adventures, Jonathan Swift, suffered. This system is known to us thanks to Sergey Mavrodi and his MMM.

Experts talked about what financial pyramids exist now, and the 360 ​​TV channel compiled a cheat sheet on how to recognize scammers.

Is it possible to make money on a financial pyramid?

Varieties of financial pyramids are also called HYIP or matrix. The system offers super profits, for example, 70% per month. The depositor agrees and invests his own, say, 10 thousand rubles. This money is immediately spent on paying interest to those who came to the pyramid before the depositor, and in a month they give you 17 thousand from the pocket of those who invested money after the depositor arrived, and the next money will be returned to them.

The collapse is inevitable, the pyramid earns nothing, the money is not invested in the production and sale of goods, it simply circulates, redistributed in favor of those who founded the structure. The cycle is repeated until the flow of those wishing to invest ends. Or until the founder or law enforcement decides to shut down the organization.

After that, most investors simply lose their money, only the top of the pyramid receives income - those who organized it and invested money first, but were not seduced by further profits and withdrew them.

The depositor is also a scammer

“Most of the financial pyramid investors are left with nothing, they overestimate their capabilities and knowledge. Even if a participant in a financial pyramid has some funds left after its liquidation, in any case this cannot be called income. It should be understood that this is money taken from investors who made a transaction after you, in other words, theft. Of course, taxes cannot be paid on these incomes, and since this income is illegal, it can simply be withdrawn. For attracting people to financial pyramids and advertising such enterprises, we provide for administrative liability, and for the organization - criminal liability, ”Marat Safiulin, manager of the federal public-state fund for the protection of the rights of depositors and shareholders, comments on the scheme. Attracting new customers to the pyramid is often a condition for the investor to make a profit.

Penalties and deadlines

In the Russian Federation, fines are provided for the public dissemination of information about the attractiveness of participation in financial pyramids, including through the media and the Internet.

For citizens, it is set at the level of five to 50 thousand rubles, for officials - from 20 to 100 thousand rubles, for legal entities- from 500 to a million rubles. For organizing a financial pyramid criminal liability - up to nine years in prison.

Why do people invest in pyramid schemes

There are dozens of loud exposures of financial pyramids in history. But there are always new clients for new organizations. Safiulin believes that this is due to human psychology: “There are two reasons: a low level of financial literacy, that is, people simply do not understand what they are doing. The second - people who are risk-averse, understand that they have a financial pyramid in front of them, but they want to take risks and think that they have the ingenuity to withdraw money at the right time. People with such a mentality, according to international experts, are from 8 to 15%.

How modern financial pyramids are disguised

To understand how the organizers of the pyramid schemes are disguised, it is enough to consider the example of a similar organization that burst in 2007 in China. It was called "Wang Feng's Ant Farm". Citizens were offered to purchase an ant farm for 1.5 thousand dollars, it was accompanied by instructions for feeding ants.

Every three months it was proposed to donate breeding ants, which were allegedly needed for pharmacological production. The promised return was 30% per year. In reality, there was no medical production; investors were paid from the pocket of newly arrived farmers.

The firm collapsed when one million Chinese diligently cultivated ants, new investors did not come, and therefore no new funds were poured in, through which it was possible to pay off previous buyers of ant farms.

Financial pyramids on the Internet

Similar schemes have been implemented on the Internet, and now experts consider, for example, recyclix.com to be one of them. This company has a wonderful legend, you allegedly invest in the purchase of ordinary garbage and receive 14% per month from the sale of already recycled waste.

Nothing is known about the enterprise itself; investors are paid money at the expense of newly arriving investors. Earnings on placement offers justrub.pro, but there are no advertisers in the system, and in order to start working, 200 rubles are required, for which they promise 1000% income per day.

Resources such as webtransfer.com, globalintergold.com, beonpush.com, business-angels-inc.com, superkopilka.com and MMM-2016 are also called cover for pyramids.

Signs of a financial pyramid

The promised super-profits are not being explained now: investment systems, secret access to banking operations. The legend can be anything, but there is no specific information and documentary base. As a rule, there is no product either, or it is highly questionable and overpriced.

The investor will definitely be required to invest (maybe not immediately) and promise a percentage of attracted customers, as well as income from 1% per day. Bright advertising is always present, show business stars often recommend pyramids, popular bloggers or beautiful girls in an expensive car talk in videos about how they changed their lives with the help of a miraculous service.

Why "MMM-2016" is not closed, and the organizers are not punished

“The procedure [of closing the pyramid] is extremely difficult due to the fact that to close such an organization, it is necessary to initiate a criminal case, and to initiate it, the victims, that is, those who lose money during the liquidation of such an organization. And when this happens, the evidence has already been erased, and the organizers are abroad, along with the funds received. In order to completely prevent the emergence of such organizations, there are simply not enough hands in the bodies, because this is a long-term work, an entire department should work to solve one such case. But just the placement of such a site abroad is no reason not to respond. If criminal activity affects citizens Russian Federation, then an investigation is mandatory, although its implementation is hindered by limited powers on the territory of other countries, ”says Petr Skoblikov, Doctor of Law and former employee of the operational units of the Ministry of Internal Affairs.

Daria Dementieva

Introduction

In the mid-90s, Russia went through a period of mass creation of financial pyramids. This period has become an integral part of the history of Russia in transition. Nevertheless, the Russian financial pyramids were not a specific discovery of their founders, but became another page in the history of the emergence of such organizations on the world stage. Basically, the issue of financial pyramids in Russia, the reasons for the participation of people in financial pyramids, the significance of these organizations for the country's economy were studied.

The emergence of the pyramids

According to the situation in which the pyramid is born, financial pyramids can be divided into two groups. Organizations of the first group initially appear as financial pyramids. (for example, AO MMM). Organizations of the second group become financial pyramids due to certain reasons at one of the stages of their development. Initially, they were created as absolutely normal companies, financial structures and could not become financial pyramids. (for example, the GKO system in Russia). Among the conditions in which financial pyramids of the first group arise, four main ones can be distinguished.

1. First of all, there must be a market for stocks or securities. The market makes it possible to exist the main instrument of financial pyramids: securities or shares, with significant fluctuations in their prices. In Russia, in the early 1990s, paper money and shares appeared, and manipulations with them became possible. Of course, paper money and securities existed in Russia (as part of the USSR) before, but there was no securities market within the country, there were no shares - the enterprises belonged to the state.

2. It is also necessary that there are no legislative restrictions on the organization of the activities of financial structures operating on a pyramidal principle. It should be noted that financial pyramids, as a rule, arise absolutely legally, on legal grounds. At the same time, legislative restrictions, most often, do not exist due to lack of experience. But at the same time, it must be said that, as the researchers note, “the improvement of some laws is not capable of putting a damper on financial scams, since it essentially prohibits not a financial pyramid as such, but only certain operations that are most often used to create financial soap bubbles. Thus, their appearance is complicated, but not canceled.” Nevertheless, in the conditions of the existing “anti-pyramidal” legislation, financial pyramids of the second group appear more often than the first. So, in Russia in 1994-1995 there was no law prohibiting the schemes most commonly used in the creation of financial pyramids.

3. The third important condition for the emergence of financial pyramids is the ability of the population to make savings (buy shares, securities), that is, a certain level of material well-being of the population. By 1994, there was some improvement in the material condition of the population in Russia: the real per capita income increased, the previous frantic inflation rates slightly decreased, privatization took place, the country began to enter the market economy (the first stage of the transition period passed), the population “woke up” a little after shock 1991-1993 As a rule, pyramids of the first group count on households as investment units. For example, the main contributors of JSC "MMM" were ordinary contributors, including pensioners and the disabled. Therefore, when assessing the probability of the emergence of financial pyramids, one should pay attention to the motives for savings and the propensity to save the population.

4. Finally, the last basic condition is the presence of the population's propensity to invest in financial institutions, including financial pyramids.

Pyramids of the first group

First of all, a financial pyramid can sometimes be divided into several smaller pyramids. So, the period of existence of JSC "MMM" "is divided into four main stages - the first pyramid, the second pyramid, the third pyramid and the completion of the first two. At the same time, each stage of the big pyramid (JSC "MMM") - a small pyramid - is similar to another stage. These stages differ mainly only in duration. The development of the financial pyramid of the first group can be divided into 4 main periods:

1. The first period includes the emergence of the company and the growth of its shares on the market to their maximum value. It can be called the period of the construction of the pyramid. It is the longest period of her life, the period of her "well-being". For example, for the first pyramid of JSC "MMM" this period lasted from February 1994 to mid-July of the same year.

2. The second period is the moment of maximum value of the company's shares. This is the "top of the pyramid". It, unlike the construction period, does not last long. AO MMM experienced this period for about two or three weeks in July 1994.

3. The third period - the collapse of the financial pyramid. During this, as a rule, short period, the price of the company's shares collapses to its original, and sometimes even lower, value. The first pyramid of JSC "MMM" passed this period from July 26, 1994 to July 29, 1994.

4. The fourth period is the post-pyramidal period. During this period, the affected shareholders hold meetings and rallies demanding compensation for the damage suffered and punishment of the guilty (the board of the pyramid company), the government carries out arrests, various checks and often confiscation of the company's property in order to find the perpetrators and return the missing money. This is sometimes followed by the payment of compensation to shareholders. For the first pyramid of JSC MMM, this is the period from the end of July, when the first rallies begin, until mid-October.

Pyramids of the second group

The pyramid of the second group can also be divided into 4 periods:

1. The first period is the period when the financial structure is not a pyramid. It can be called the non-pyramidal period, or the pre-pyramidal period. It can take quite a long time. GKO and OFZ go through this period from 1994-1995 to 1997.

2. The second period is the issue of securities and the transformation of the financial structure into a financial pyramid. It can be called the pyramidal period. The beginning of this period will be marked by a significant depletion of the financial resources of the company, the structure that pays dividends. The issue of securities is undertaken by her to improve her financial position. By the end of the pyramidal period, the financial position of the company, the structure is deteriorating, it faces the question of paying dividends on securities. The GKO system went through this period from 1997 to the summer of 1998.

3. The third period - the collapse of the built pyramid. It is accompanied by the liquidation of the financial structure, declaring it bankrupt. For the GKO system, this is August 1998.

4. The fourth period is the post-pyramidal period. It largely coincides with the post-pyramidal period of the pyramids of the first group. Its peculiarity is the lack of payment of compensation, since the financial resources of the financial structure are depleted to zero, and compensation, as a rule, is paid from confiscated property. There was practically no post-pyramidal period in Russia, since the collapse of the debt pyramid was accompanied by a crisis situation in the country, the freezing of most accounts, the devaluation of the ruble, and rising unemployment, as a result of which measures were taken to overcome the crisis, rather than looking for the guilty.

Influence

Financial pyramids have an impact on the economic situation in the country. Their main consequence, as a rule, is a drop in the savings activity of the population, especially concerning investing money in shares and securities, due to a drop in confidence in those investment institutions. Thus, the volume of investments, which play an important role in the economy, is reduced. Here is what A. V. Anikin writes about the consequences of the collapse of the Mississippi Company of John Law in France at the beginning of the 18th century: “The collapse of the Law system had a great impact on the economy of France in the 18th century, right up to the revolution at the end of the century. The trauma of the collapse of the Mississippi scam and the entire system of Lo slowed down the development of banking and the growth of industry”

Similar consequences were caused by financial pyramid schemes in Russia. After the events of 1994-1995, the composition of household savings changed, and the share of savings in shares and securities decreased. The desire of the population to make savings in this form has also decreased. At the same time, according to a survey by the Public Opinion Foundation in July 1997, 74.5% of those who invested in financial pyramids consider themselves to have lost money as a result of investing, and only 9.4% of those who invested in financial pyramids consider themselves to have received profits from investments. It was the previous negative investment experience, which is one of the most important factors that can influence the current choice of investment strategies by a particular household, that affected the decline in savings in securities and stocks. Another consequence of financial pyramids is the adoption of a law on their prohibition, the creation of a system for protecting the rights of depositors. In Russia, on November 4, 1994, the Federal Commission for the Securities Market of Russia (FCSM) was established, whose functions include the development of uniform standards for insurance and guarantees in the securities market, and the creation of a system for protecting the rights of depositors. The creation of the FCSM was the state's response to the surge in the emergence of financial pyramids.3 In England, in June 1720, the Soap Bubbles Act was enacted, which prohibited the establishment of joint-stock companies without an official license under the threat of fines and imprisonment. This law was aimed at protecting depositors from medium-sized financial pyramids.

Financial pyramids in Russia

In the mid-90s, several organizations appeared in Russia at once, operating on the principle of pyramidal payments and posing as joint-stock companies: Chara, Tibet, Russian House of Selenga and others. But, of course, MMM JSC became the most grandiose and scandalous of them.

MMM managed to get the Russians to open such secret savings that the tax police could not get to. And citizens voluntarily carried all this money to the Mavrodi company. According to the Federal Fund for the Protection of the Rights of Depositors and Shareholders, the company did not have a license from the Central Bank of Russia to raise funds. But despite this, the pyramid continued to successfully pump money out of the population for years.

It is “MMM” that first of all comes to the mind of a Russian when he hears the word “pyramid. "MMM" Sergei Mavrodi created back in 1988, shortly after his release from prison. JSC "MMM" was registered on October 20, 1992 in a branch of the Moscow Registration Chamber. And already in August 1994, Sergei Mavrodi was arrested for concealing income from the Invest-Consulting company he headed.

In the media, including on television, there is a powerful advertisement for a new joint-stock company that promises to pay the largest dividends. Soon, the share price begins to rise, and by July it rises 5 times compared to February (from 25,000 rubles per share to 125,000 rubles per share). JSC "MMM" is becoming extremely popular. At the main point of JSC "MMM" (Varshavskoe shosse, 26), very soon large queues of people wishing to purchase shares begin to line up, the number of which reaches an average of 300-600 people in July, and the head of JSC "MMM" - Mavrodi, is one of the leading entrepreneurs in Russia . In July, the collapse of the financial pyramid comes: on the 29th, the share price collapses from 125 thousand to 1 thousand. On August 4, S. Mavrodi is arrested. But a week later (August 5) after the collapse of the first pyramid, new tickets of MMM JSC go on sale, and the construction of a new pyramid begins. The share price gradually begins to grow - from 500 rubles to 5 thousand rubles by mid-September. At the end of August, a collection of "voluntary donations" is announced. In mid-September 1994, a serious turning point occurs. A large batch of tickets from MMM JSC is thrown onto the market, which causes a sharp decrease in their rate and the closure of the point of sale. Panic begins among the shareholders, they begin to hand over tickets. In the last ten days of September, the ticket rate increases quite sharply. However, already on September 29, it again sharply decreases (from 7-8 thousand to 600 rubles). And on October 5, all reception points of MMM JSC are closed. A little earlier, on September 24, Mavrodi was approved as a candidate for elections to the State Duma. On November 1, 1994, S. P. Mavrodi, elected as a deputy of the State Duma, opens points of sale and announces the introduction of a two-month “transition period regime”. All previously issued promotions and tickets are frozen, and a new series of JSC MMM tickets is issued at the initial rate of 1,000 rubles. New tickets are being bought quite actively. Throughout November 1994, the rate of the latest issue of JSC MMM tickets rises quite steadily from 1,000 to 3,500 rubles. However, already on December 1, Mavrodi changes the rules of quotations, introducing a "floating" rate, determined by the short-term balance of supply and demand. As a result, the stock price quickly falls to its original level. During December, the exchange rate drops to 500 rubles. From December 20, 1994 to January 3, 1995, JSC MMM arranges holidays, and during this period the share price drops to 170 rubles. In the future, the rate gradually grows and by mid-March reaches a thousand-ruble mark, but on March 16-17, relatively massive changes occur, and the rate drops to 200 rubles.

March 20 Mavrodi introduces a new "stabilization regime". Tickets of a new "special series" are introduced and tickets of the previous series are frozen at the same time. At first, the rate grows, but after a sharp rise it falls again (by 4.5 times). On April 24, tickets for a new series are again introduced and all previous ones are frozen, but already on May 4, the rate of tickets for a new series drops by 4 times. On May 10, 1995, a series of "preferred tickets" is introduced, which are subject to fixed quotations and sales volume limits. Operations with tickets of previous series, frozen until June 20, will not be resumed within the specified period. The activity around the points of sale of JSC MMM is gradually fading away: the financial pyramid is ending. The number of victims of the financial game of MMM JSC in Russia is estimated by experts from 5 to 24 million, but no one knows the real number of victims. It should be noted that ordinary investors, including pensioners and the disabled, became the shareholders of MMM JSC. And it is these population groups that have suffered the most.

Wherever Sergei Mavrodi was hiding, he did it very well. Until January 2003, law enforcement agencies could not get on his trail. By that time, many of his colleagues in the pyramids had already been on trial. Thus, the head of the Tibet financial pyramid, Vladimir Dryamov, was sentenced to 15 years in prison. The founders of the financial pyramid "Selenga Russian House" Alexander Salomadin and Sergey Gruzin were sentenced to nine years in prison each with a term in a penal colony. And the head of Vlastelina, Valentina Solovieva, managed during this time to serve her five years in a colony by a court decision and again do the same business, retaining all the same architectural predilections. In the city of Podolsk near Moscow, she established a kind of CJSC Interline, which sells cars and operates on the principle of a pyramid. Mavrodi Jr., Vyacheslav, and even Sergei Mavrodi's wife, Elena, also came under court. Sergei himself was put on the international wanted list. However, nothing was heard of him, although they seemed to be looking for him very diligently. In September 1997, the Moscow Arbitration Court declared MMM bankrupt. The damage caused by MMM to millions of depositors was then estimated at $100 million. In 1998, the Investigative Committee of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation combined all the materials related to the activities of JSC MMM into one production and created a single investigative and operational group. Over the years, the magic power of "MMM" has waned. At first, apparently, the pyramid began to pull out money worse, and then the protection provided by the design to its creator also weakened.

On February 3, Russian media reported that former MMM depositors had a chance to get their money back. On that day, the Investigative Committee under the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia asked the former investors of MMM and the company's subsidiaries to send statements to the committee about the damage caused to them. To recognize them as injured citizens, they must also provide photocopies of all documents defining financial relations with the companies of the MMM group - checks, tickets, certificates.

Russian house Selenga

As mentioned above, "MMM" is not the only pyramid that has operated in Russia. In 1992, the Russian House of Selenga was registered in Volgograd - a company that became the "progenitor" of thousands of financial pyramids. The main objective of the company was to invest capital in large industrial facilities and create their own financial empire.

Tibet

In 1992-1994, “the Tibet concern” launched an aggressive advertising campaign to attract depositors. During this time, the firm owned by Dryamov entered into loan agreements with 200,000 Russian citizens. Fraudulently, he deprived depositors of 17 billion 344 million non-denominated rubles

In 1994, the head of "Tibet" disappeared and was put on the international wanted list. He was later arrested by Greek law enforcement for petty theft at a supermarket. A Greek court sentenced Dryamov to a year in prison. In March 1998, he was extradited to Russian law enforcement agencies. During the investigation, the guilt of Vladimir Dryamov in committing fraud on a large scale was established, which was confirmed by the court.

Khoper

Another company, Khoper, followed in the footsteps of RDS (it was advertised on television by the cabaret duo Academy). Millions of dollars of depositors were smuggled into Israel.

In 1994, its office in Moscow was registered. The founders of “Khopr” are Leah Konstantinova, her son Leo, a relative of the Konstantinovs - Tagir Abbazov, Volgograd businessman Oleg Suzdaltsev. Branches of "Khopra" functioned in 70 Russian regions. The company included about 50 different structures: check funds, insurance companies, related OJSCs, LLP, and others.

According to statistics, there were more than four million deceived depositors. It was the largest financial pyramid in Russia. Judging by the papers, from 1993 to 1997 Khoper attracted over three trillion "old" rubles, about $500 million at the 1997 exchange rate. All the funds that investors brought to Khoper (with the exception of funds for current expenses and small interest payments on shares) were sent abroad by the Konstantinovs. Either in cash or under fictitious contracts through foreign banks: the Moscow People's Bank in London, about $20 million went through the Bank of New York, then the funds settled in coded accounts in Israeli banks. The rest of the money was taken to Israel in “black cash” in suitcases.
Until the moment the money crossed the border in suitcases, they were deposited in bank cells or kept at Lev Konstantinov's house.
After the collapse of other financial pyramids, there were real estate, shares of existing enterprises that could be sold and partially returned money to investors. After the "Khopra" there was nothing left - everything was exported in cash abroad. Although the Khoper company has been involved in various criminal cases since 1994, the reason for the arrest of the four accused appeared only in 1997, after numerous audits of all Khoper structures.

GKO system (1994-1998)

The era of financial pyramids ended in 1994-1995, but just three years after the end of mass pyramid building, another financial pyramid collapsed, this time built by the state. In 1994-1995, the Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation switched to financing the deficit by issuing securities - state treasury obligations (GKO) with a maturity of 3 and 6 months and federal loan bonds (OFZ) with a maturity of one to three years - instead of direct borrowing from the Central Bank and emission of money. At first, this measure had a positive effect. However, soon the state of the economy and finances of the country led to the abuse of this tool. In the fall of 1997, foreign investors, who by that time had a significant share of securities in their hands, began to sell government securities, which threatened to deplete the Central Bank's foreign exchange reserves and undermine the ruble against foreign currencies. As a result, the Central Bank used its only effective weapon - raising the refinancing interest rate. In autumn 1998, it reached 150% per annum. The increase in the refinancing interest rate caused an overall increase in interest rates, including the yield on government securities. The state debt pyramid has grown. In 1997 and in the first half of 1998, the federal budget became subject to the task of paying interest on the public debt. Between January and July 1998, federal budget expenditures on interest payments accounted for more than 60% of all tax revenues, and each new issue of these obligations had to be made at higher interest rates. A situation has developed in which new issues of securities not only did not give money to the budget, but also absorbed budget revenues themselves. In August 1998, the crisis hit.

Effects

The collapse of financial schemes can also lead to macroeconomic effects. Consequences include loss of confidence in national financial markets, expressed in a fall in prices for financial assets, the exchange rate and rising interest rates, the leakage of deposits from banks, the diversion of savings from effective use, bringing them abroad with significant consequences for the country's balance of payments. If the losses of affected customers are compensated by the state budget, then the fiscal burden on the economy also increases. In addition, the collapse of the pyramids entails the fall consumer spending, which were motivated by paper income from participation in financial schemes, and the growth of problem assets in financial sector if financial institutions were involved in questionable investments.

Currently, the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia is in favor of toughening criminal liability for the organization of "financial pyramids". Russian Interior Minister Boris Gryzlov ordered the creation of a working group of representatives of the departments of the ministry, which will develop relevant proposals. According to the estimates of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, over the past 9 years, about 500 thousand people have become victims of "financial pyramids" in Russia. In total, they lost 9.5 billion rubles and almost 240 million dollars. During this period, 324 criminal cases on "financial pyramids" were initiated and investigated. Currently, 52 of them are suspended in connection with the search for suspects.

More than ten years have passed since the financial pyramids ended their inglorious march across the country. However, until now, in our everyday life, words from television commercials glorifying the fastest way to enrichment: “I'm not a freeloader, I'm a partner!”, “I'll buy boots for my wife”, “A good increase in pension”.

Sources

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%9C%D0%9C%D0%9C

rosbalt.ru/business/2011/01/24/811611.html

ZIRCON Research Group: Financial Activity of the Russian Population in 1995-2001//: “Exclusive Marketing.” 2001/3(24)

Carroll R. T. Financial pyramid // Encyclopedia of delusions: a collection of incredible facts, amazing discoveries and dangerous beliefs. - M.: Williams Publishing House, 2005. - 672 p. - ISBN 5-8459-0830-2, ISBN 0-471-27242-6.