The Bhutanese Leading the way.
Given the plethora of Pyramid schemes floating in Bhutan, despite many being banned, and the consequent financial loss and foreign currency loss, the need of the hour is to crack down on it.
It is clear that these effective Ponzi schemes under various guises are only getting bigger and spreading faster in Bhutan with thousands of Bhutanese getting hooked more easily than ever before.
It is high time that instead of the Competition and Consumer Affairs Authority (CCAA) just issuing notifications and warnings, it should start prosecuting those operating banned schemes.
The CCAA will not be able to do it on its own and so it is time that the RBP gets involved in a big way before the problem becomes too big to handle.
Pyramid schemes have wreaked havoc across the world and especially in neighbouring India where the combined might of the Indian Police, Enforcement Directorate and other agencies are still having a tough time controlling them.
As proudly announced by the QNet pyramid scheme organizers in Malaysia, the pandemic followed by the economic downturn has seen their business booming like never before as people lose jobs and livelihood and are looking for income.
This may also explain why pyramid schemes are thriving in Bhutan right from the middle of the Pandemic starting with Enagic and others like QNet, Tall win, Puth, Enveer, Salad master and others.
Many Bhutanese lost their livelihood during and after the pandemic and so in desperation many turned to these dubious pyramid schemes which promised fantastic returns for a little investment and not much work except for recruiting more members to the schemes.
Thousands of Bhutanese have lost millions in the recent Puth scam where the masterminds have scooted off with the deposits and are not responding to pleas. Puth may have gone away but it has come back in another form in Enveer which seems to have an active role by some Bhutanese in Australia.
The QNet scam was banned in 2003 and 2022 in different avatars but it is still running strong with little consequence.
If one looks at the profile of Bhutanese recruiters these are normally seasoned and senior people in corporations, civil service, business and others and these few make the big bucks. The ones who get recruited are lower down the ladder in the form of people with some money but not much financial literacy or awareness. In quite a few cases they can ill afford to lose their savings which they often do.
The purpose of a Ponzi scheme is to trick people, to take the money and run.
Mitchell Zuckoff