How the masterminds of pyramid schemes duped thousands into parting with their money
Protesters block the Nyeri-Nairobi highway in Nyeri on June 25, 2011 over the government’s failure help them recover billions of shillings lost in pyramid schemes. FILE PHOTO | JOSEPH KANYI | NATION MEDIA GROUP
A report by a task force headed by Mr Francis Nyenze, who is the National Assembly Leader of Minority, says Mr Karanja was among 148,784 investors who lost over Sh8 billion to 270 fraudulent schemes.
The Nyenze Report says some of the victims committed suicide or developed diseases such as depression and diabetes.
When pyramid scheme mastermind Peter Ndakwe stashed millions of shillings in offshore accounts in Panama, he did not defraud faceless entities with piles of money but thousands of ordinary Kenyans, who had bought into his lies and invested their life savings in his company, Clip Investment Sacco Ltd.
One such person is Mr Samuel Karanja, a middle-aged businessman in Nairobi who, in 2007, took out a bank loan to invest in Clip and other companies that promised high returns.
