This country been very, very good to me!
Posted on 09/01/2010 3:34:54 PM PDT by dynachrome
COTONOU, Benin (AP) -- More than a hundred thousand people in the tiny West African nation of Benin have lost their savings in a Ponzi scheme run by a now-defunct company that appeared to be publicly endorsed by the country's president.
The government said in a statement last month that more than 130,000 people gave their savings to Investment Consultancy and Computering Services. Together they lost more than $130 million, the statement said.
The corporation was registered as a nonprofit computer service company and was operating illegally as a banking institution. ICC was forced to close July 1, and more than a dozen of its employees were jailed.
But the reverberations have echoed to the top of Benin's power pyramid and now threaten President Boni Yayi, who appeared on television with ICC managers.
(Excerpt) Read more at kdwn.com ...
I found this amusing:
“ICC managers could not be reached for comment, as the company no longer exists and many executives are in jail.”
Bernie Madoff’s fellow Ponzi-scheming buddies must have been picking up the slack for him in Africa!
Sad, really. Average of $1,000 per investor in very poor country.
payback....Benin is one source of those 911 email scams
I’m still counting on that $10M that I was promised from that Nigerian prince. I’m certain it’s on the way.
Who wouldn’t invest when the company offered 200% interest. Its just a no brainer.
This country been very, very good to me!
Last one I got came from the Ivory Coast. I forget which dictator “she” was the daughter of.
That dress the woman in the background is wearing reminds me what the First Lady might put on for a gala at the White House.
“payback....Benin is one source of those 911 email scams”
I saw an NBC show about Nigerian e-mail scams. One point of it was Nigerians were using Benin by name because the Nigeria brand is more than worthless. The show interviewed a Benin police chief complaining about the Nigerians.
thanks for clarifying.
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