Bank of Russia identifies over 2,000 financial pyramids and illegal entities in first six months of 2022
This is three times more than in the same period last year. The number of identified pyramid schemes increased 6.5 times, illegal professional securities market participants almost tripled, illegal lenders more than doubled.
Such dynamics are due to several factors. Fraudsters became more active, taking advantage of the current economic situation. They actively promoted ‘loans from individuals’ and investments in ‘non-standard’ pseudo-investment projects. One of the trends aggravating the situation was the split of large pyramids into smaller ones. Almost 80% of these pyramids and illegal entities operate online.
The Bank of Russia detects such schemes using its own monitoring system. This year, the regulator implemented new search algorithms and expanded sources for information space monitoring. All this made it possible to detect illegal projects and warn consumers about them more promptly. Furthermore, in late 2021, a law on pre-trial blocking of financial pyramid websites came into force, which also helped reduce their lifespan.
Read more details about countering illegal activities and financial pyramids in the analytical material of the Bank of Russia.