Ponzi schemes and somalis

[Lamagoodle]

Ponzi schemes also known as pyramid schemes- named after the Italian fraudster, Charlie Ponzi- are effortless to set off; no education, no investments, no nothing but just a creative brain. The scheme is easy to conduct and veil from scrutiny as long as you have in-cash flow. You pay interest rates/returns to earlier investors and as long as there is money flow coming into the system you are safe. In most cases the payments you make to your creditors are higher than market value and as such no suspicion. By and large a ponzi scheme is an affinity crime in which the con artist targets members of an identifiable group based on race, age, religion, etc.

In modern time, the most well known Ponzi scheme is the one conducted by Maddof whose scheme involved nearly 50 billion US dollars. His victims included pensioners from Jewish communities, Hollywood celebrities and a number of charities. Another well known ponzi scheme was that which brought Albania to its feet in the 1990s. An economic advisor to the PM, Hajdin Sejdia, initiated the scheme. It is estimated that this fraud cashed in about 2 billion dollars in a country who GDP is in the same range.

Ponzi schemes and somalis
If you have fared outside our “qatar aan nahay” “islaan baan nahay” bubble you may realise that in the diaspora we are described as ; war mongers, welfare cheats, morons, pirates etc . However, what people forget is that somalis are very creative and are generally known for being resourceful, without putting much effort.

Our people are Ponza schemers;
There are several cases of ponzi schemes created and run by somalis; your correspondent witnessed one in London involving women. Through trust cemented in a Ayuuto, two-three women got together and commenced a scheme. The people in the top pyramid were making a lot of money. After a few months, a few new entrants at the bottom came to realise that they stood to lose a lot of money unless they lured others into the scheme and hitherto did not blow the whistle. When after a few more months, a few in the bottom were approached by relatives they blew the whistle. It was settled in the grand old somali version; those who gained from the scheme were asked to pay. Afar faataxo, walaalan nahay was enough!

Apart from the above scheme which was tiny in scope and scale (involved about 100 pounds/person), there are several ponzi schemes out there. Mainly, these schemes involve real estate or Xawaala; Dalsan and more recently Qaran express are two examples of Xawaalahs that ceased to exist when those at the top emptied the coffers.

In the last few decades you have probably witnessed people buying/leasing apartments in Dubai. Every Xalimo or Faarax who has lived in the west and accumulated some wealth through deceit means – yes deceit because these schemes involve easy money- has bought an apartment that does not exist; all you need is an architectural plan and a computer aided design. Normally, the fraudsters lease a plot of land in Dubai and get a CAD copy. In order to raise funds they target respectable people in society; grand mothers/fathers who are too afraid to buy a home in the Diaspora because of social security fraud, insecure Xalimos or people who have made legitimate money and want to invest for their children’s future.

Equally, if you have ever visited Nairobi, you are likely to have walked into a real estate broker’s office – mainly in the same building as the hotel you live in. You may notice the computer aided design of bungalows on the wall, detached and semi detached houses; the quran recitation which speaks to your heart and the pious looking owners greeting you with Asalamu calaykum akhi and telling you to buy a home in Mombasa or Nairobi’s Athi River area.

So what does it take to engage in Ponzi scheme ala somali? In my opinion you need the following ingredients:
a)Islamic discourse; a bearded and on the onset a pious man to be the salesman. In every of his sentence he will use sentences such as “dhulk gaalada ka soo guur”. He blinds your rational judgment by claiming that sheikh hebel and sheikh hebel have endorsed/bought and or blessed the endeavour; that everything is xalaal and that you can trust him. He tells you that all you need is to pay is an advance of xx dollars and voula you have a house where you can pray!

b)Ayuuto; this is a big investment portfolio which on the one hand is doing wonders; in its better days it is a saving scheme that is based on trust and has existed for centuries when other institutional pillars of our society have died. If you need to help people back home, if you want to buy a house or simply save, all you need is to involve in ayuuto and the problem is fixed. On the other hand, ayuuto savings usually deprive kids off material things not to mention the friction between spouses. While their peers can buy Nintendo, Nike shoes etc and can go on holiday, the Somali kids whose parents invest in Ayuuto is a poor kid who is bullied for his visible poverty. There is also a time bomb here because there are predators out there who will quench their desires, your correspondent’s tentative conclusion; kids are susceptible to become victims of pedophiles and other ills because their wants of modernity is not met by their parents. Truly, the Ayuuto which was a savings scheme for women parse is not a bad thing; in the good old days women did not work and depended on their husbands who gave them masaruuf to buy food for the family: the ideal woman goes to the market and buys food to feed the family. Because of prudent buying she saves some few cents which become her ayuuto contribution; for hygiene products, something to decorate the house etc and buy clothing for herself and kids. This simple scheme which had a gender dimension is currently (in the west) the main form of saving/borrowing. It defies widely held and obsolete gender logic since men are involved in large numbers and hitherto a far cry from the old spirit of women-self help!

c)Passive society that appears to have come to the diaspora to live on the sweat of others; parasites who condemn the gaalo hands that feeds them in the public discourse but who love to enrich themselves. This discourse is given potency by the wadaads who will lecture on the vice, ills , historical wars and the perils of living in gaal country etc but avoid condemning these parasites. This social decay is discernible if you see the number of divorces of conveniences, the marriage of conveniences involving incestuous relationships just for the sake of bringing a loved one overseas.

Beware

[Alphanumeric]

You have a lot of hate for "shaykhs"/"wadaads"/anyone who appears pious and seem to include them in nearly every rant. Interesting.

[SOM1960]

What a load of nonsense

[Lamagoodle]

Alpha, I think you rushed in your judgement. Wadaad is not the thesis of this piece.


Som1960, so why did you bother read it? Don't force me to write a few paragraphs that could declare you intellectually inferior to engage in a discussion of this magnitude

[SOM1960]

You bullshit too much

[Lamagoodle]

You bullshit too much

How? why?

You are breaking the rules of this site.

[SOM1960]

stop lying, now explain to us why you hate somalis

[Lamagoodle]

stop lying, now explain to us why you hate somalis

You are breaking these two rules

Insulting and flaming or personal attacks against forum members and staff will be not tolerated.

4. Please be considerate in language and content you use on the forum,

[Alphanumeric]

Alpha, I think you rushed in your judgement. Wadaad is not the thesis of this piece.


Som1960, so why did you bother read it? Don't force me to write a few paragraphs that could declare you intellectually inferior to engage in a discussion of this magnitude

I realize. But you do find a way to cleverly sneak em when given the opportunity. Regardless the topic, they're usually in their.

[metamorphosis]

indeed Somali people are creative and business minded. Some of them can sell reallly well. For example i know of this old lady that had a store. When i was younger my mother would send me to her to buy some pasta and rice and stuff. She would tell me get this specific kind and if the specific brand i was sent to get was not there, the old lady would pick another brand and praise it for me. I would end up taking it and my mother would send me back. The moral of the story is that yes Somali people can get tactical and get wealthy pretty quickly without much effort.

[BlackVelvet]

You have a point, Somalis yaab ey igu dilaan mar mar. Muxaadaro aa la dhageysanaa, "sax" iyo "subxanallah" mesha ka dheceyso marki la dhameyo neh tuugnimo iyo xaqdaro aa lagu noolyahay.

Sheikyasha neh I have an innate mistrust for. Don't know if that makes me a bad Muslim, maybe it's my exposure to Christianity from an early age but preachers are not people I take too seriously.

[PrinceDaadi]

Lam: I beg to differ, while ponzi schemes do exist in the Somali Society, most of what you listed was not Ponzi, i e like Qaran and Dalsan were mismanaged business.


As you said the ayuuto is small scale ponzi though i believe the reason why most Ayuutos fail is more on poor management than Ponzi but few Ponzs can exist.


The Dubai and Nairobi real states, many of them were well intentioned but poorly executed projects. there were number frauds, some serious ones but they didnt qualify to be Ponzi.


I believe in order something to qualify for Ponzi, they have to continue for a some tyme other wise it becomes jst a fraud case. Most of the cheating Somalis does r one tyme case.



I have seen few Somali Ponzi schemers. btw in order to be ponzi schemer, you have to be very smart and well versed in that sector. education doesnt always mean going to class but in order to do that job u need to be good in finance.

[Advo]

Been maadan sheegin lamagoodle, waxaan bartay this somali guy that looks professional and nice ah, marka maalin buu isoo wacay oo dhahay ninyahow I have a business plan to talk with you, waan yara farxay waayo investing opportunity or something plausible baan umaleeyey. Marka sidaan uhadleeyney wuxuu galay inspiration talks, then wuxuu ku xijiyey sidaan lacag badan u waxeen doono hadaan so gaalo groupkiisa, to start waxaan bixinaayaa 300 boqol, go to their fancy meetings anoo suit xiran oo hoteel yaal luqu qabto. The whole idea was I bring in more people, we buy from the same company (all their products) and in time make loads of money. SMH

I didnt wanna be mean, so waxaan iska dhahay I was interested and waan ku soo celinaayaa taleefanka

[DR-YALAXOOW]

So what does it take to engage in Ponzi scheme ala somali? In my opinion you need the following ingredients:
a)Islamic discourse; a bearded and on the onset a pious man to be the salesman. In every of his sentence he will use sentences such as “dhulk gaalada ka soo guur”. He blinds your rational judgment by claiming that sheikh hebel and sheikh hebel have endorsed/bought and or blessed the endeavour; that everything is xalaal and that you can trust him. He tells you that all you need is to pay is an advance of xx dollars and voula you have a house where you can pray!

b)

walaahi this is 100% true. lot of somalis lost their money the bigest schemes like Dubai sarihii laga xayeeysiin jiray Universal tv. ee iidheh aheeyd
sheekh gar weeyn inuu soo fadhiisto( walaalayaal caruurtiina dhulka gaalada ka soo kaxeeysta. halkan AADANKA SALAADA maqleysaan intaa ayaa nimco ah)

my cousin lost 100 thousend US dollar sarihiii ajman dubai lagu xayeeysiin jiray, wxuu iibsaday aparthment oo computer animation lagu sameeyo oo been abuur ah. gurigii xitaa lama dhisin never.

ilaa iyo maanta universal tv wali waa ka socotaaa this ponzi schemes. MOMBAZA AND NAIROBI guryo lagu xayeeysiinayo, xitaa waxaan arkay kililka 5aaad dad xayeeysiinayaan oo dhahaya big mall ayaan ka dhiseynaa oo investment ku sameeysta.

Anigan dr yalaxoow 2006 ayaa mid shiikh isku famil nahay ii yimid wuxuu u yiri. buy a share of coming building project in Nairobi. singel share coasts 30 000 dollars. waxaa la dhisayaa sar 6 dabaq ah. markii ay dhamaatana every share wuxuu bil waliba qaadanayaa 700 dollars.

marka 2006 ayaan shiikhii garka weeynaa ee isku familka aheeyn qaainkaas 30 000 dollar lacag aan habeen iyo maalin u hurdo beelay aruurinteeda extra hours shaqo ah ayaan u dhiibtay.

gurigii 6 dabaq ahaa central nairobi ayaa laga dhisay. 2008 ayey first time yiraahdeen daartan waa ku qasaarnay. sidoo loo maleeynayey ma noqon. every share will only get 250 dollar anigoo yaaban. 2008 inay lacagta ay balan qaaden inay bixinayaan bilaabi doonaan ayaan u maleeyey. nasiib xumo. no money 2008. not even 2009. dhamaadkii sanadkii 2010 ayaa la ii soo wacay waxaa la igu yiri. your share provit of this year 2010 is 200 dollars i ask them where is the money from 2008 and 2009. they said to me those years they were paying deeman lagu lahaa sidaa darteed qof wax la siiyey ma jirto.

2011 ayaan waxaan isku dayey inaan my origninal 30 000 soo ceshado. walaahi ilaa iyo hadda from diseembar 2011 ilaa iyo hadda lacagteeydii originalkii xitaa 5000 dollar ka iska qaateen kaliya 25000 hadii aan ka heli lahaa nacalada GARARKA WAAWEEYN tuugada ah.

kkkkkkkkkk thats true story walaahi. soomaalis waa biggest Ponzi schemers

[miskeen86]

no time to read all that crap

going to twitter