Last night saw riots across Colombia after a popular investment scheme turned out to be a scam.
Angry investors took to the streets in cities across Colombia yesterday after it emerged that a popular investment scheme was nothing more than a scam.
Believed to have been a pyramid scheme orchestrated by drug traffickers to launder dirty cash, the nationwide scam conned thousands of Colombians out of their life savings. Many are said to have remortgaged their homes in an effort to raise investment capital.
Promising investors returns of up to 200%, the spurious venture and others of its kind are said to be more popular than the genuine savings schemes offered by banks in the South American country.
However, the scheme, operating under the name DRFE, came to a head yesterday when investors found company offices abandoned and jesting farewell notes taped to the doors.
"Now for being stupid and believing in witchcraft you will have to work much harder to recoup the money you gave us." said one. "We wish you a sad Christmas and a shameful New Year." another.
In the Colombian city of Popayan over 2,000 took part in heated riots until police enforced an emergency curfew using tear gas and batons. It is believed that curfews were also imposed in a further 5 cities.
One ex-DRFE ‘employee’ is reported to have died amid the protests, however it is yet unclear whether this was at the hands of an angry mob. Other individuals involved in the scheme are being held in police custody after receiving death threats.
Alvaro Uribe, the Colombian President has now ordered an wide-scale investigation into the money-laundering schemes and has called upon Congress to approve tougher penalties for those involved in such cons.
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