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MMM (Ponzi scheme company)
МММ was a Russian company that perpetrated one of the world's largest Ponzi schemes of all time, in the 1990s. By different estimates, between 5 and 10 million people lost their savings. According to contemporary Western press reports, most investors were aware of the fraudulent nature of the scheme, but still hoped to profit from it by withdrawing money before it collapsed.
In 2011, MMM re-opened as "MMM Global".
MMM was established in 1989 by Sergei Mavrodi, his brother Vyacheslav Mavrodi, and Olga Melnikova. The name of the company was taken from the first letters of the three founders' surnames.
Initially, Mavrodi operated a network of computer-importing cooperatives. In January 1992, tax police accused MMM of tax evasion, leading to the collapse of MMM's internal bank, and causing the company to have difficulty obtaining financing to support its operations. Faced with difficulties in funding its foreign trade, the company switched to the financial sector. It offered American stocks to Russian investors, but met with little success. In December 1992, MMM-Invest was created as a voucher investment fund, a type of entity created to collect privatization vouchers. It was renamed Russ-Invest in May 1995, to distance it from the MMM scheme.
The MMM Ponzi scheme was launched in February 1994, promising annual returns of up to 3000%. The company started an aggressive TV ad campaign, spending 330 million rubles in March 1994. The ad campaign appealed to the general public by using "ordinary" characters that viewers could identify with. The most famous of them, a "folk hero" of early 1994, was Lyonya Golubkov. Another notable marketing effort was a giveaway of free Metro trips to all Moscow citizens on a particular day.
At its peak the company was taking in millions of US dollars each day from the sale of its shares to the public. Mavrodi reportedly owned enough cash to pack several rooms full with banknotes. The success of MMM in attracting investors led to the creation of other similar companies, including Tibet, Chara, Khoper-Invest, Selenga, Telemarket and Germes. All of these companies were characterised by aggressive television advertising and extremely high promised rates of return. One company promised annual returns of 30000%.
Regular publication in the media of the rising MMM share price led President Boris Yeltsin to issue a decree in June 1994 to protect investors from false advertising.
On 22 July 1994, the Ministry of Finance issued a statement listing MMM among a number of investment firms which had illegally issued unregistered securities. Thousands of investors protested in front of the company headquarters, prompting the intervention of riot police. By the next day, the firm was no longer operational. The company attempted to continue the scheme for a few days, and even issued new shares. As Russia did not have any laws against Ponzi schemes, the government decided to seek tax evasion charges. At that point, Invest-Consulting, one of the company's subsidiaries, owed more than 50 billion rubles in taxes (US$23 million in 1994), and MMM itself owed between 100 billion and 3 trillion rubles to the investors (from US$50 million to US$1.5 billion). MMM shares fell from 115,000 rubles to 1,000 rubles. In the aftermath, some investors reportedly threatened to set themselves on fire.
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MMM (Ponzi scheme company)
МММ was a Russian company that perpetrated one of the world's largest Ponzi schemes of all time, in the 1990s. By different estimates, between 5 and 10 million people lost their savings. According to contemporary Western press reports, most investors were aware of the fraudulent nature of the scheme, but still hoped to profit from it by withdrawing money before it collapsed.
In 2011, MMM re-opened as "MMM Global".
MMM was established in 1989 by Sergei Mavrodi, his brother Vyacheslav Mavrodi, and Olga Melnikova. The name of the company was taken from the first letters of the three founders' surnames.
Initially, Mavrodi operated a network of computer-importing cooperatives. In January 1992, tax police accused MMM of tax evasion, leading to the collapse of MMM's internal bank, and causing the company to have difficulty obtaining financing to support its operations. Faced with difficulties in funding its foreign trade, the company switched to the financial sector. It offered American stocks to Russian investors, but met with little success. In December 1992, MMM-Invest was created as a voucher investment fund, a type of entity created to collect privatization vouchers. It was renamed Russ-Invest in May 1995, to distance it from the MMM scheme.
The MMM Ponzi scheme was launched in February 1994, promising annual returns of up to 3000%. The company started an aggressive TV ad campaign, spending 330 million rubles in March 1994. The ad campaign appealed to the general public by using "ordinary" characters that viewers could identify with. The most famous of them, a "folk hero" of early 1994, was Lyonya Golubkov. Another notable marketing effort was a giveaway of free Metro trips to all Moscow citizens on a particular day.
At its peak the company was taking in millions of US dollars each day from the sale of its shares to the public. Mavrodi reportedly owned enough cash to pack several rooms full with banknotes. The success of MMM in attracting investors led to the creation of other similar companies, including Tibet, Chara, Khoper-Invest, Selenga, Telemarket and Germes. All of these companies were characterised by aggressive television advertising and extremely high promised rates of return. One company promised annual returns of 30000%.
Regular publication in the media of the rising MMM share price led President Boris Yeltsin to issue a decree in June 1994 to protect investors from false advertising.
On 22 July 1994, the Ministry of Finance issued a statement listing MMM among a number of investment firms which had illegally issued unregistered securities. Thousands of investors protested in front of the company headquarters, prompting the intervention of riot police. By the next day, the firm was no longer operational. The company attempted to continue the scheme for a few days, and even issued new shares. As Russia did not have any laws against Ponzi schemes, the government decided to seek tax evasion charges. At that point, Invest-Consulting, one of the company's subsidiaries, owed more than 50 billion rubles in taxes (US$23 million in 1994), and MMM itself owed between 100 billion and 3 trillion rubles to the investors (from US$50 million to US$1.5 billion). MMM shares fell from 115,000 rubles to 1,000 rubles. In the aftermath, some investors reportedly threatened to set themselves on fire.