MMM Founder, Mavrodi Dies Of Heart Attack | The Precision

Russian businessman Sergei Mavrodi, whose MMM
pyramid scheme deprived millions of Russians of their savings in the
1990s, has died of a heart attack, according to Russia media.

Reports said the 62-year-old was rushed to the hospital late on March 25 with pain in his chest and died several hours later.

Mavrodi’s MMM financial pyramid was a typical Ponzi scheme in which
earlier investors receive their profits from subsequent investors.
Mavrodi promised returns of 20 percent to 75 percent a month, as well as
lotteries and bonuses for investors.

As soon as the number of new clients stopped growing, the pyramid
collapsed, causing huge financial losses for at least 10 million people,
in some cases leaving them destitute.

In 1994, Mavrodi was elected as a lawmaker, a decision he later said
was to ensure he received immunity from prosecution. In 1996, he lost
his parliamentary mandate.

In 2007, a Moscow court found him guilty of financial fraud and sentenced him to 4 and a half years in a penal colony.

In 2011, Mavrodi launched another pyramid scheme called MMM-2011,
calling on investors to purchase so-called Mavro currency units in a bid
to get rid of the “unfair” financial system. Some 15 months later,
Mavrodi halted the project.

From 2011-16, Mavrodi launched Ponzi schemes under the MMM brand in India, China, South Africa, Zimbabwe, and Nigeria.

In many of those countries, Mavrodi’s operations were subsequently shut down or suspended.

•Source: Radio Free Europe (www.rferl.org)