May 11, 2010

Exposing the “Bio Disc” in Africa

The Bio Disc scandal finally receives some long-overdue press coverage. In “QuestNet pyramid scheme drops anchor in Africa” we read of the multi-level marketing company’s exploits in Uganda, Kenya, Rwanda, Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire, and elsewhere. The article’s unnamed author alleges that “The sale of [QuestNet] products is fraudulent and targets the poorest of society—those who are desperate to make money quickly. The scam destroys relationships, because it’s to family and friends that recruited salesmen then sell the scheme to themselves. They convince their friends into indebting themselves in order to enroll in the scheme, and later find themselves responsible for both their own and their friends’ financial struggles when the pyramid collapses.”

Read our evaluation of the Amezcua Bio Disc here.

Background: A damaging report on QuestNet was broadcast by American Public Media in February of 2008. Read their report here, or listen here. QuestNet was banned in Rwanda in August of 2009, according to this report, and was the subject of a “sting operation” in Armenia in December of the same year, according to this report.

Update:
QuestNet is under criminal investigation in Turkey, according to a May 28, 2010 online report by the respected news daily Hürriyet: “The Turkey branch of an international Ponzi scheme that collected millions of dollars from thousands of people has collapsed after police raids against the company. Quest.net, which defines itself as an ‘international direct selling brand that utilizes network marketing combined with e-commerce,’ victimized nearly 20,000 people in Turkey, according to government officials. The company, which is headquartered in Hong Kong, has been banned in many countries.”