Nanning pyramid scheme: S'porean woman, 60, loses S$140,000 in apartment investment

A 60-year-old Singaporean woman was among the victims who fell prey to a suspected pyramid scheme in China, which has seen 52 Singaporeans arrested to date.

The woman, known only by her surname Wu, said she lost S$140,000 after making an investment in an apartment complex in Fangchenggang, another city in Guangxi.

According to Shin Min Daily News, she also invested S$50,000 when she was first roped into the scheme due to her confidence in the city.

The total amount she lost is now unable to be recovered, she said.

How she became involved

Wu, a secretary, first came across what she knew as the "Nanning Project" after being told about it by a colleague.

She said the operators of the scheme created the illusion of a "secret project" with great potential.

They would interview those interested in joining, but ask them to keep a low profile.

Participants were also asked about their profession and family background, as well as whether they had friends who were keen to join.

Each person was instructed not to tell anyone about the project.

In 2019, Wu was invited to the Chinese city for an "inspection tour", where she attended classes and visited ongoing project sites.

As Nanning's cleanliness, high-end quality and portrayal as a "garden city" interested her, she decided to make a S$50,000 investment in the project.

"I initially went with the mindset of 'just checking it out',' but later I thought it looked good and it wouldn't hurt to invest," she told Shin Min.

According to her, she was given the option of investing S$30,000 or S$50,000, but went with the latter as it allowed her to buy property there.

During a visit to a real estate project site, she paid about S$140,000 in full to purchase an apartment unit.

Considering that the price was lower than that of a HDB flat in Singapore, and that Nanning was not far from home, she thought of buying the unit for short stays after she retires.

Roped others in

Wu added that as she firmly believed in the project's high returns, she became an "upline" participant, or a participant on the higher tier of the pyramid scheme.

She was responsible for the food and lodging of "downline" participants and would receive a commission if she was able to recruit others.

Wu successfully roped a friend into the scheme, believing that it would help her situation as the latter did not have a high income.

"I never expected it to be a scam, and I really regret it!" she said.

Those above her in the pyramid, or "higher upline", would organise groups to Nanning every month and could sign up to bring "potential downlines" along.

There was a proper operating procedure, Wu said.

Participants on these trips would hand their passports to those in charge, who would then help to open local bank accounts and obtain local phone numbers.

Realised something was wrong

Wu had initially planned to visit Nanning again in 2020 to inspect the progress of the project, but was prevented by the pandemic.

In the meantime, she was unable to contact the real estate agent that she had worked with.

She soon realised something was amiss and stopped recruiting people.

Later, she found out that the project had changed developers and came to believe that her money was gone.

Another victim borrowed S$30,000 from relatives

Another victim told Shin Min that she borrowed S$30,000 from overseas relatives to invest in the scheme.

The 48-year-old said she came across the project while travelling to Nanning with friends in 2019, and saw that it was promoted under the government's name.

As a friend had already purchased property there, she was tempted and thought that the city had high development potential for her to run a small business.

However, the friend told her that she would need to join the project before being able to do business in the city.

"I really believed it at the time. After returning to Singapore, I couldn’t sleep at night and kept thinking about the Nanning project," the woman said.

As she only had S$8,000 in her bank, she borrowed the remaining sum from relatives abroad without telling her family.

She eventually raised S$30,000 and remitted the money to China.

Later, she travelled to Nanning with a friend and a "higher upline" to look at properties, but grew suspicious when the latter acted dubiously during an unexpected police investigation.

Upon her return to Singapore, the victim cut off contact with friends and other individuals involved in the scheme and changed her number.

She has not dared to tell her family about the incident to date out of guilt.

"Eating and drinking while being brainwashed"

Singaporean life coach Xie Mingyao, 50, said he was invited to give a lecture in Nanning in 2017, but realised it was a scam after arriving.

He had been invited by a friend whom he met through his business, he told Shin Min, and brought a team of eight with him.

In the Chinese city, he saw apartments, restaurants and entertainment venues run by Singaporeans.

"The process involved eating and drinking while being brainwashed," Xie said.

He grew suspicious after listening to a series of sharing sessions about investments, and asked a friend about the details of the lecture, but was informed that no lectures were being held.

According to Xie, a few people were attracted by the project, but others saw through the scam.

The group eventually did not follow through with the itinerary, and spent the rest of their trip doing actual sight-seeing.