MMM division collapses

Staff Reporter

THE Republic of Bitcoin, a division of MMM Global, has reportedly collapsed.
Republic of Bitcoin is another Ponzi scheme started by Russian convict Sergey Mavrodi.
It promised a monthly interest rate of 100 percent which was paid in bitcoins, a virtual currency.
It operated along the same lines as MMM, the main pyramid scheme offering 30 percent per month.
MMM uses a virtual currency called Mavros, named after the founder who has started a string of pyramid schemes since 1995.
The Republic of Bitcoin’s collapse has triggered fears that MMM might follow suit. If that happens thousands of Basotho who have embraced the scheme as a new ‘investment opportunity’ will lose their monies.
South Africa’s Fin24 reported this week that Mavrodi had gone into hiding following the collapse of the Republic of Bitcoin on April 8. thepost could not independently confirm this.
Mavrodi last posted his weekly news updates on the MMM Global website on March 20. Republic of Bit’s collapse was announced on MMM Global’s Facebook page on April 8. “We regret to inform you that we have to close down the Republic of Bitcoin. It was an experiment, and, unfortunately, it failed. We turned out not to able to pay 100 percent per month,” the statement said.
“We can easily pay 30 percent per month (and we proved it in practice in many countries), but 100 percent is too much even for us. That’s why the RB (Republic of Bitcoin) will be closed down.”
“All the participants’ RB-Mavro are transferred to the MMM-structure of the countries which the participants come from. If there is no MMM-structure working in this country, it will be created within two weeks from the date of this announcement.”
“This news is not very pleasant but there is nothing that can be done about it. It’s not the end of the world. We just have to wait a bit. We hope for understanding, Administration,” said the statement.
In the wake of Republic of Bitcoin’s demise members of the MMM Global South Africa, through which most Basotho invest in the Ponzi scheme, moved swiftly to allay fears of an impending collapse.
“In the MMM community there are many different countries,” a member of the MMM SA team said in a Facebook message to Fin24 on Monday.
“One of them was the Republic of Bitcoin. It was a ‘synthetic’ country which united participants from many different countries who provided and received help with bitcoins.“Sometimes it created confusion for the people, they asked whether they should join the Republic of Bitcoin (RB) or MMM SA, RB or MMM France, etc”.
“We decided to dissolve the Republic of Bitcoin and people will continue to participate in their specific countries. So, those South Africans who participated in the Republic of Bitcoin will be moved to MMM South Africa. And people will be able to continue to participate and will continue to receive help on the South African Platform.”
MMM investors remain adamant that theirs is not a Ponzi scheme. – Additional reporting by Fin24