Qnet Pyramid Scheme: Qyzylorda Organizers Sentenced, Property Seized

A court in Qyzylorda has delivered a verdict in the case of the Qnet financial pyramid, one of the largest fraudulent networks in Kazakhstan. The network operated in nearly every region, including with the involvement of former law enforcement officers, Orda.kz reports.

The Financial Monitoring Agency (FMA) detailed the scheme as a classic pyramid. Victims were lured with promises of profit from multi-level marketing and e-commerce, and persuaded to purchase fake “QVI tripsaver” travel cards and allegedly valuable jewelry.

Deposits ranged from 840,000 to 4 million tenge. A mandatory requirement was to recruit new participants. As a result, 51 people were drawn into the scheme, collecting over 63 million tenge, the FMA stated. 

The Qyzylorda branch organizers were found guilty and sentenced to six to seven years in prison. The court also ordered the confiscation of assets worth 301 million tenge, including seven apartments in Astana and a Toyota Camry.

Organizers of other Qnet branches have also faced sentencing. In one case from a year ago, an Astana resident was convicted in a case involving 145 million tenge in damages. In northern Kazakhstan, former police officers were found to be among the scheme's key players.

A few years ago, as the Qnet fraud began to unravel, Orda.kz journalists visited the company’s local offices and spoke directly with victims to find out how and why people continue to fall for these traps.

Original Author: Zarina Fayzulina