Two people have been arrested in north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region for extorting 1.2 billion yuan (160 million U.S. dollars) from investors through an illegal pyramid selling project involving a suspect a forestation investment project.
More than 30,000 people from 12 provinces and municipalities were promised sizeable profits before they handed money over to Chen Xianggui, the board chairman of a registered a forestation company and Liu Yanying, general manager of the company.
Chen and Liu charged the investors 1,660 yuan for each mu of land (0.066 hectare), and promised 12 cubic meters of timber in eight years and 15 cubic meters in 10 years, which means their investment would have been quadrupled, said Fan Xinyi, an official with the local Public Security Bureau.
It is almost impossible for the trees to bring such a hefty profit in a region where the natural conditions are harsh, said a local farmer.
Deserts in the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region has been plaguing the country by bringing notorious sand storms to the local region and Beijing, China's capital city.
The company has been involved in "illegal pyramid selling with bogus advertisement" because it paid bonuses to its members based on the number of the investors they can draw in, said Fan.
Source: Xinhua
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