CAIRO: A new pyramid scheme scandal is causing a stir in Cairo, with the alleged perpetrator dubbed "Rayan Nasr City. The Prosecutor General s office for public funds in New Cairo refused to provide any information about the man behind the latest case of fraud to hit the city, but he is reportedly accused of stealing money from the public by creating a faux Islamic investment company. He allegedly collected money from citizens, promising them higher interest rates than banks, but failed to provide the investors with regular revenues or return the money. The accused was quickly named "Rayan Nasr City due to the resemblance between his case and the infamous 1990s' pyramid scheme scandal masterminded by Ahmed El Rayan. A source at the Prosecutor General s office, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told Daily News Egypt that they are currently "investigating the complaints filed by a number of people against the so-called 'Rayan Nasr City,' but we are not authorized to provide any further information or reveal the identity of the accused. The source added that "no information will be provided to the press before the accused is proven guilty so that he will not suffer any emotional or psychological harm if he is innocent. On his nightly talk show "90 Minutes - which airs on the satellite Mehwar channel - Moataz Al-Demerdash conducted a telephone interview Feb. 18 with people who filed the case against "Rayan Nasr City. One man, who owns a computer store, said he gave the unidentified scammer around LE 5 million to invest, adding that he did not doubt the legitimacy of the operations since the accused person is widely known to be "connected with some high profile people and sons of some of the most prominent governmental authorities and ministers. "He was also known to be a very religious man who observes strict prayer times and performs hajj almost every year, the victim said. Another telephone interview was with a young man called Mohmoud, who said that he gave "Rayan Nasr City around LE 1 million, collected from his own savings as well as four of his friends. "I have receipts that prove he took this sum of money from me, Mahmoud said, adding that he was never "100 percent sure this man was not a thief. Mahmoud also said he knew this investment was a risk, and at times thought he could end up losing all his money, yet this did not stop him from investing with the accused. Both attributed poor economic conditions and rising prices of necessary commodities for their hasty investment ventures, and they are not alone in being tempted by get-rich-quick schemes. After the original Rayan incident, the government made illegal all types of investment operations that could turn into "pyramid scheme scenarios. In December 2007, police arrested "Rayan Al-Qalyubia, who swindled LE 180 million from 2,000 citizens in Al-Qalyubia. Ahmed Al-Sayed, a lawyer, previously told Daily News Egypt that the sentence for involvement in "pyramid schemes could reach 15 years imprisonment. However, if the scammer returns the money, he's acquitted immediately. "If he is still under investigation, he is released. If he has already stood trial, the sentences are dropped. These companies are not involved in any service-providing or production activities, he continued. They usually work under the umbrella of other legally registered companies.
