Superintendent of Banks Alejandro Fernandez has tweeted a grim truth. Legally, there is little the financial authorities can do here regarding pyramidal scams until a victim presses charges.
Superintendent Fernandez highlights the past scam by TelexFree that affected thousands and mentions a recent pyramid case that is making the rounds – Mantequilla. Diario Libre carries on 28 September 2022 a report on how Mantequilla operates and attracts its customers, primarily in Sabana Grande de Boyá in Monte Plata province.
“War warned does not kill a soldier,” says the Superintendent, evoking the popular Dominican saying. Fernandez warned that as long as the payments on the “investment” are being made and are up to date, as long as someone does not denounce having been swindled in a scheme, the financial activity is not punishable by law, as reported in Noticias SIN.
He said everyone is free to take their money to a sorcerer who promises to multiply it magically.
To counter the situation, he said the Superintendence of Banks is working with the Superintendence of the Securities to draft a bill. The legislation would criminalize and penalize pyramid schemes so the Superintendence of Banks can then act before there are victims. Meanwhile, he urged people not to fall for people who promise to multiply their money. He wrote in Twitter: “If the investment offer is too good to be true, you can write it in stone: It is a scam.”
Read more in Spanish:
Alejandro Fernandez W Twitter
Noticias SIN
Diario Libre
28 September 2022