S'porean woman invited to 'do business' in China, flies there & invests S$75,000 before suspecting pyramid scheme

A woman (who shall be referred to as A) has been trying to recover more than S$75,000 that she invested in an alleged pyramid scheme in Nanning, the capital of China's Guangxi region.

Earlier in 2026, she was introduced to a programme involving a business opportunity linked to Nanning's development, she shared with CNA.

As she was facing challenges in her job, A flew to Nanning a few weeks later to learn more, and eventually decided to buy "shares" in the business.

She was then apparently told that she could earn commissions if she recruited other people into the programme.

She and someone she recruited ended up transferring S$75,000 to the Singapore bank account of another woman, a friend of A's who had invited her to the Nanning trip.

After that, things started to seem suspicious.

A did not receive a receipt of her transaction, nor a copy of the expression of interest agreement that she had previously signed in Nanning.

She also realised she had not been paid the commissions she was promised for recruitment.

To date, she has not been able to get an explanation from the friend who introduced her to the programme.

Suspected pyramid activities in China

On A's Nanning trip, it was fellow Singaporeans who conducted meetings and presentations sharing more about the investment programme.

A is one of several Singaporeans who have shared with Singapore media stories of getting approached to join what they later suspected was a pyramid scheme in Nanning.

These interviews happened on Sep. 4, after the Singapore Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) said that 52 Singaporeans have been arrested and detained in Guangxi following China's law enforcement operation against suspected pyramid scheme activities and related offences.

Though MFA and the Singapore police did not name the scheme involved, Guangxi is where the notorious "1040 Sunshine Project" originated from.

It is an offence to organise or lead pyramid scheme activities in China.

Investigations by the Chinese authorities are ongoing.

The Singapore police has contacted its Chinese counterparts to seek more information.

How they recruited people

According to CNA, the alleged pyramid scheme appears to have used a similar recruitment process for more than a decade.

It typically starts at professional or networking events, or social gatherings organised by current members of the programme, where someone would engage the newcomers in casual conversations about investing in China or Nanning.

They would then arrange smaller follow-up meetings to share about business and investment opportunities specific to Nanning.

People who express an interest in investing would be invited on a trip to Nanning where, over four to five days, they would be taken on city tours, and visit local malls and supposed development centres in Nanning.

At the end of the trip, they would attend briefing sessions by fellow Singaporeans, who shared their own testimonials of earning money through the programme before pitching it to the participants.

In a session held in February 2025, participants were told their role was to identify and recruit members in Singapore, CNA reported.

The organisers also told them repeatedly that the opportunity could transform not only their own lives, but those of the people they recruited.

A man who also went on such a trip to Nanning in 2019 told CNA he grew suspicious of the programme when he saw a lot of Singaporeans there at the meetings.

"If you are asking me to expand my business in China, the first thing is you are supposed to introduce me to local businessmen... not other Singaporeans,” he said.

Did not see any actual product

A 39-year-old woman told Zaobao she had suspected that the programme was a scam early on, but decided to participate anyway out of curiosity.

In October 2019, she travelled to Nanning on a trip where everything apart from the flight was paid for by the organisers.

During the trip, a lot of people repeatedly told her how successful they had been since joining the programme, and how much they have benefitted from doing business in China.

But soon, she noticed that not once that she see any actual product or evidence of the business development.

"They kept talking about the Belt and Road Initiative, and how the local government very much welcomes Singaporeans to start a business there," she recalled. "But I just never saw any actual product."

Offence in China

MFA reminded Singaporeans to exercise caution when invited to take part in schemes involving the recruitment of participants or the upfront payment of substantial sums of money, whether overseas or locally.

China investigated more than 200,000 cases of pyramid schemes and direct selling violations between 2021 and 2025, according to the State Administration for Market Regulation.

It is an offence to organise or lead pyramid scheme activities in China.