MMM is a classic financial pyramid scheme, the organizers of which pay interest on deposits from funds contributed by new participants. Its development is predictable: first, the pyramid becomes popular, people invest in it and make a profit, but over time, funds begin to run short, payments stop, and the structure collapses.
At first, MMM was a cooperative that sold equipment and issued its own shares. Share prices were constantly growing, and in an effort to get the maximum profit, Sergei Mavrodi issued more and more securities. When the Ministry of Finance prohibited him from continuing to sell new shares, Mavrodi began to print tickets that, according to the law, did not have the status of securities, but were unofficially equated to them. Then, in 1994, a financial pyramid appeared.
Investors bought tickets in huge numbers, and they even became something of an unofficial currency. Mavrodi's income has become enormous, because, according to the most conservative estimates, at least 10 million Russians have invested in the pyramid. Each of them received interest on the deposit, moreover, they were paid from the funds of new depositors, since, unlike banks, MMM did not use the money received to generate additional income. Three years later, in 1997, Mavrodi announced the collapse of the financial pyramid, and hundreds of thousands of depositors lost the opportunity not only to receive interest, but also to get their money back.
In 2011, an "improved" version of MMM appeared. Mavrodi announced that the new structure will work in the electronic system WebMoney, which means that it is impossible to take money by force, as, according to the adherents of Sergei Panteleevich, this was done by the state during the collapse of the former MMM.
The MMM-2011 pyramid operated on the principle of network marketing. Each new participant who made a contribution was transferred to the account of $ 20 as a bonus, moreover, the depositors were also asked to convince their friends to join MMM for an additional fee. Initially, it was announced that each participant would be paid 40% of the deposit amount in order to attract new people, but soon this number dropped to 10%, and bonuses were removed. Only a part of the participants were able to get their money, while the rest were left with nothing when it became known about the collapse of MMM-2011. To pay off debts, Mavrodi plans to create a new pyramid.
