The Consumer Council has received reports of Fijians allegedly losing their money in a pyramid scheme.

This follows a report of a community gifting circle lodged with the Council in the Western Division.

Council’s Chief Executive, Seema Shandil, highlights that an Administrator of a group approached the Council because the recruits of the gifting circle started demanding a refund for the cash gift they gave.

She says the Circles’ Administrator informed the Council that she does not know which members of the Circle have the recruits’ cash and attempts by her to determine this has proved futile.

Shandil stresses that it is impossible to obtain a redress for these Fijians due to the illegal nature of such schemes and the complications involved in tracking the trail of cash flow.

The Consumer Council CEO says by the time a pyramid scheme invariably shuts down, the top-level operatives walk away with loads of cash, while the majority of lower-level members leave empty-handed.

Shandil says the Council is reiterating its previous warnings that pyramid schemes are illegal and Fijians should refrain from engaging in such schemes.