In January 2011, the organizer of the financial pyramid of the 90s, Sergey Mavrodi, launched a new project. The activities of MMM-2011 are based on all the same principles: depositors receive fabulous interest, which is taken from the money of those who come to the system later. The revival of a dubious financial system in a new version is fraught with danger not only for ordinary depositors, but also for the state.
The principle of operation of the international financial corporation, revived by Sergei Mavrodi, is as follows: system participants buy virtual "Mavro" at the current rate, and subsequently have the opportunity to sell them at a new, increased rate. The exchange rate of the MMM-2011 internal currency is determined by its organizer. There are several types of "Mavro" with different levels of profitability and different conditions of their circulation.
One of the features of the updated financial pyramid, which makes it difficult to fight it, is that MMM does not have an official organization and a single center. There is not even a separate bank account. The purchase and sale of virtual "money" occurs between individual participants in the system, while the form of transfer of funds is not strictly regulated. In other words, there is a danger that it is incredibly difficult to identify fraudulent actions and prove the involvement of specific persons in them.
In February 2011, the antimonopoly authorities of Russia provided the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation with an expert opinion, in which MMM-2011 is recognized as a financial pyramid. Attached to the conclusion were reports on the mathematical study of the business model proposed by Mavrodi this time. It follows from the expert opinion that the new MMM scheme is not able to provide the declared profitability of 20-60% per month, and therefore bears signs of fraud.
Nevertheless, it is difficult for law enforcement agencies to charge the organizer of the pyramid with fraudulent actions and deception, because Mavrodi himself has repeatedly publicly warned future investors that MMM-2011 is a financial pyramid, that no one guarantees the return of deposits. Mavrodi also reminded potential investors that he had a criminal record for setting up a similar enterprise in the mid-90s of the last century. This tactic, oddly enough, does not repel future participants, but, on the contrary, instills confidence in the organizer.
This is where the main danger lies for ordinary citizens of Russia and other countries on whose territory the MMM operates. Each of them consoles himself with the hope that this time events will develop in a more favorable way, and everyone will receive the promised reward. The impotence of the official authorities, which do not have sufficient grounds to charge Mavrodi with fraud, only strengthens this confidence, instilling in people illusory hopes for quick and easy enrichment.
In the meantime, the 2011 version of MMM appears to be experiencing a serious internal crisis. According to RIA Novosti, in one of his last addresses, Sergei Mavrodi suggested that a large-scale panic at the end of May 2012, which led to a freeze in payments, could make it impossible to continue the project in its current form. The project is being replaced by a new one - MMM-2012, most of the details of which have not yet been disclosed.
