Are there Flats for $2000? (September 22, 1997)

According to the estimate made by specialists more than 1000 thousand people suffered because of having trusted their money to the unscrupulous businessmen. Many people were robbed by financial pyramids known for their criminal business which is of no doubt for anybody today. But also there's quite a number of people deceived by the representatives of small business whose undertakings haven't yet been sufficiently estimated. The chief investigator of Moscow Regional Department of Internal Affairs in Minsk Sergei Shablovskii informed the correspondent of "Vechernii Minsk" about the cause he's pleading.

In January 1995 a small business enterprise "Sinai" gave an advertisement in newspapers, on radio & television about the extremely beneficial investments. For example, having paid in a sum of $2000 one could get a one-room flat on a year. Though not quite new, but still well repaired. An interesting detail is the service of this enterprise. After a year would have passed all willing to get a flat were supposed to have a tour round the city in order to choose the accommodation they liked best out of the prepared flats. Besides accommodation the firm offered cars at the price of $1500 & other goods (from refrigerator to video systems) at a still lower price. But the condition of one year delay continued to be an important item of each contract. Businessmen were to have multiplied the money of have used their profits for buying flats & other goods. Those who refused to buy a flat were supposed to get their money back. Still few people have got TV sets or refrigerators & some of them even have got their interest rates. But of course nobody was given a flat & near ten people simply lost their money.

The head of this bankrupt enterprise promised to return all the money back to his clients, handed out the receipts, shared his commercial plans which allowed to get much money. But his business wasn't successful, the terms of returning money were constantly postponed & at last the director has gone into hiding. Now he's being prosecuted both by the fooled investors & by his wife who wants to get her alimony. In any case the businessmen will have to answer for his deeds in the court. Much will depend on proving that the firm originally acted with the malicious intend.

The credulity of some investors in our country is just surprising. The price for a one-room flat has been $8 000-9 000 during the last two years. One can get this information by phoning any agency dealing with real estate.

Moreover, nobody cared about the kind of business which can provide such high profits. It might be weapon, drug & even people trade. It's clear that far not everybody has an idea of even the simplest economic laws. But the four rules of arithmetic are familiar to everybody & the worldly wisdom could have prevented the blunder.

Alexander Malinovslii.

Translated by Veronica Sai. Please send mail about the quality of translation.