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Lure of 'easy money' causing trouble for Colombians

Jaime -- who will not reveal his last name because he feels ashamed of his great naivety -- is furious that he queued up for ages in Bogota to have a policeman "steal" the money he had saved for years with great effort.

Carlos -- whose feeling of guilt show in his comments -- admits that greed led him to lose all the money he had gathered to launch a business.

The two men, who do not know one another, are among hundreds of people who in recent days have queued up in Bogota and other Colombian cities to demand the return of the money they gave to illegal financial agents who promise fabulous interest rates, far above those of formal banking.

The problem came to light in recent days, but it is growing fast and the authorities are worried: behind every single victim of the scam there is a human tragedy that leaves a family bankrupt.

The "pyramid" system has been known for years in Colombia, although it commands particular attention now given the high number of people who have been duped.

Jaime explained that he turned to one of the agents following a recommendation from a friend. He admitted he did not hesitate for a second before handing over 3.3 million pesos (US$1,700), because the person he dealt with promised to return the cash, with earnings of up to 400 per cent, within "three to 10 days."

The man, aged around 40, almost fainted when he returned for his money and found many people who were denouncing the breach of the commitment by a "ghost" firm that set up shop at a home in Bogota.

The generous earnings vanished, and worst of all, so did the original amount.

The story is identical for hundreds of people who were complaining before houses in Bogota, Bucaramanga, Neiva, Villavicencio and smaller towns.
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