“They sold people a computer program” with the promise that by contributing “4,000 Egyptian pounds, you would earn 30,000 and that for 100,000, you would earn a million”, explained Amr Adib, presenter of one of the most watched talk shows in the country, on Saturday night, while the testimonies of victims of the platform were accumulating on social networks.
Launched in August, HoggPool paid its clients until February, when it abruptly ceased its activity and disappeared with the money, says the state daily Al-Ahram, which describes this system as a Ponzi pyramid.
The same source assures that “thousands” of Egyptians brought a part of their savings to the platform hoping for significant returns and above all, a more interesting exchange rate against the official dollar, at a time when it continues to worsen.
According to the Interior Ministry, the suspects – 16 Egyptians and “13 unidentified foreign nationals of the same country” – were detained in possession of “95 mobile phones, 3,367 SIM cards and 41 foreign bank cards.”
At the time of being dismantled, the network was trying to launch a new platform called Riot.
Egypt is going through an unprecedented economic crisis. The Egyptian pound has lost half its value against the dollar in a year and inflation officially reached 26.5% in January, although experts believe that it is actually four times as much.
Source: Ambito
