Sergey Mavrodi, a convicted Russian fraudster who ran a web-based pyramid scheme that saw Kenyans lose hundreds of millions of shillings died in Moscow of a heart attack on Sunday.
The 62-year old Mavrodi ran Mavrodi Mondial Moneybox (MMM) Global, which had a local affiliate that oversaw the scheme known as MMM Kenya.
The company is named after its founders; Sergei Mavrodi, Vyacheslav Mavrodi and Olga Melnikova.MMM Kenya promised new users a return of 100 percent on what they put in.
“How much money do you need to be absolutely happy,” the online application posed to potential new users.
New members were told that they would be issued with cryptocurrency points known as 'Mavros' if they sent money, which was supposedly meant to help the needy.
[caption caption="Sergei Mavrodi in the dock"]
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Members were told to pick the amount of money they would give to others and the growth rate.
If, for instance, you put Sh5 million as the amount you require, you would be asked the money you can give as “help” to others – and from that amount it would be calculated when you would be able to start receiving help yourself.
Upon joining the MMM network, users were asked to make a “personal help” of not less than $10 (Sh 1,000).
They were promised a 30 per cent monthly return on the investment and even higher returns when they assisted members that ask for financial assistance.
The scheme was first exposed in Kenya in January 2018, but had already collapsed in several other countries by then.
Users who were holding 'Mavros' in Kenya are currently unable to do anything with them after the company announced that the operation had been put on 'Pause mode'.
“In the near future, the administration will take a decision concerning MMM’s future and report on it officially,” a statement on the MMM-Kenya website noted.
[caption caption="Sergei Mavrodi"]
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