Nine people were brought to trial in a Spanish court on Friday on charges of defrauding billions of euros from investors by a pyramid scheme involving some 350,000 small investors.

Of the nine men appearing in court, four ran Afinsa Bienes Tangibles, the world's third biggest collectibles firm, four worked with Forum Filatelico, a Madrid-based stamp investment firm, and a private stamp dealer.

The public prosecutor said the firms sold overvalued stamps to investors at fabulous margins of profit, and promised to buy them back with interest payments of up to 10 percent.

It said during the years from 1998 to 2002, Afinsa sold 58 million-euros (73.66 million dollars) worth of stamps to its investors for 723 million euros (918.21 million dollars), gaining more than a tenfold profit.

According to the charge the prosecutor made to the court, at the end of 2004, Afinsa's commitments to its investors amounted to 1.75 billion euros (2.23 billion dollars).

Estimates show that Forum Filatelico is holding nearly three times as much in investors' money, for a total of 5.2 billion euros (6.65 billion dollars).

That money should have come from the appreciation of the investments, the prosecutor said, but it actually came from new clients, as is typical in a classic pyramid scheme which expands and expands until it inevitably collapses.

The two firms have denied the prosecutor's charges in their statements, and assured their investors that their commitments can be met.

Hundreds of angry investors gathered at the offices of the two Spanish companies this week in an effort to get their money back as the authorities continue their investigation into the alleged stamp investment fraud case.

Source: Xinhua