Armenian Pyramid Scheme Shuts Down: Hundreds of Investors Left Out of Pocket

Overview

-Authorities launch investigation into suspected financial pyramid scheme -“City Bike” website promises lucrative returns, encourages recruitment -USE of official Citi Bike logo deceives potential investors

Details

The Armenian authorities have initiated an investigation into a suspected financial pyramid scheme after the sudden collapse of the “City Bike” website (citibike.am). The platform had attracted hundreds of unsuspecting Armenian citizens since its inception.

Luring Investors

The website, which claimed to be associated with the privately-owned bicycle sharing system, “Citi Bike,” which operates in New York City and parts of New Jersey, lured potential investors with the prospect of future profits and encouraged them to recruit friends to join (Hetq, 2023). New sign-ups would result in payments for the initial investors.

Deceptive Use of Logo

The deceptive use of the Citi Bike logo led many Armenian citizens to believe they were dealing with a legitimate enterprise.

Vanishing Funds

However, the website abruptly went offline yesterday, leaving hundreds of investors without any means of communicating with the organisers or recovering their investments.

Police Statement

Armenian National Police spokesperson, Ashot Zohrabyan, issued a statement on the progress of the investigation:

“We are conducting a thorough investigation; we’re looking into the financial transactions, the identities of those involved in running the site,” Zohrabyan said. “Our main goal is to protect the victims and hold the individuals behind this scheme responsible.”

Current Status

Identities of Scheme Operators

At the time of publication, the identities and whereabouts of those responsible for City Bike are still unknown.

Future Financial Offers

Potential investors are urged to exercise caution when considering future financial offers to avoid similar pitfalls.

Reporting Stolen Funds and Gathering Information

The authorities advise those who have lost money to report their cases to their local police stations and encourage anyone with information regarding the City Bike pyramid scheme to come forward.