A crisis is a favorable time for scammers to operate, so it is not surprising that right now one of the old stars of financial scams has decided to return to the scene. We will talk about the notorious Cashbury scam and its subsidiaries, Cashbury2 and GDC, which since 2016 have managed to ruin more than tens of thousands of people, but this, apparently, was not enough for the main initiator and ideological inspirer of the scam, Arthur Vardanyan. Back in 2022, the Cashbury 2020 website was launched, so to speak, ahead of the curve, which immediately identified itself as the successor to Cashbury 2019. In turn, in the notorious 2022, when the first version of the scam finally burst and the official website was closed at the insistence of the Central Bank, Cashbury 2019, or Cashbury 2, was launched as a replacement and a promise to return everything to legitimate investors. Thus, Cashbury 2020 is another reincarnation of the famous financial pyramid.
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The fact that it has become more active again became clear from recent videos on YouTube. First, at the beginning of March 2022, a video appeared with Vardanyan himself. Despite the collapse of his brainchild, he is quite optimistic and promises to appear regularly on air, reporting on the latest news of the project. But what we found much more interesting was the appearance of a whole bunch of fresh videos of “happy investors” who allegedly received the promised money. In a staged manner, as if from a carbon copy, they talk about how they were able to profitably invest in Cashbury 2020, and have already received the accompanying payments.
The official website is made primitively, but what is noteworthy is that in the “Reviews” section, up to 50 text messages appear every day, mainly about the deposit amounts and successful payments. Apparently, the divorce turned out to be so successful that it wouldn’t be a sin to repeat it.
The rise and fall of the first version of Cashbury
The Cashbury investment scam is based on a very simple idea about microloans. Everyone knows that microcredit to the population is a very profitable enterprise. “Cashbury” proposed to connect depositors and borrowers. The scheme was simple. Depositors who have free money and are interested in passive income invest their money in Cashbury, and the company uses these funds to issue microloans to people who need money “before payday” or for the development of small businesses. The proceeds are returned to investors in the form of huge interest. The idea seems to work, if not for one “but”: “Cashbury” has never provided microloans.
However, this misunderstanding in the company’s business plan somehow completely surprisingly fell out of sight of the investors, who were the main and only target of the scammers. But the blind spot of “investors” can be explained very simply - they were blinded by fabulous profits. Over the course of a year, one could earn from 200 to 600% on deposits into the Cashbury initiative, but the profitability depended both on the chosen type of deposit and on the partner activity of the depositor. For investment, the site offered several long-term and short-term tariff plans.
Long-term tariffs implied a deposit not for a quarter or a year, but for exactly four hundred days, although interest was accrued daily. Another exotic feature of investing in the project was that the body of the contribution was not returned. For this reason, short-term investing turned out to be unprofitable. It was used as bait for those who doubted. The most popular short-term deposit option was “LightZam1000”. All you had to do was deposit 1000 rubles. The deposit was perpetual and brought the investor 7.67% daily. But given that the deposit was not returned, it turned out that the investment began to pay off only after four months.
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In 2022, the Cashbury program was wildly popular among the population, attracting more and more investors with aggressive advertising and network marketing methods. Thunder struck when the Central Bank of the Russian Federation revoked the license and declared the company a financial pyramid, freezing the accounts of several tens of thousands of depositors. At that time, according to estimates, the Cashbery Limited holding caused damage to the well-being of people in the amount of 3 billion rubles, although it is difficult to definitively estimate the losses due to the many financial schemes. For mutual settlements, the company also accepted cryptocurrency. On average, investors suffered losses ranging from 500 thousand to one and a half million. Some deposits reached tens of millions of rubles. Money for some of them was borrowed from banks at high interest rates.
Principles
Cashbury's strategy is built on the basic principles of network marketing, its philosophy and mission are based on trust, satisfying the interests of depositors and are focused “for the benefit of ordinary people.” Everyone registered on the service can participate in microcrediting for individuals and businesses, lend money as collateral, and receive bonuses. In short, an investment service brings together people who want to lend money to each other and earn interest.
600% per annum - such a profit, against the backdrop of the banking average of 6-7% on ruble deposits, attracts everyone who wants to quickly improve their financial situation. People who have no idea about the principles of operation of credit institutions believe promises and expect profit from investments. Director of the Central Bank of the Russian Federation department Valery Lyakh, who is investigating the activities of dubious commercial projects, warns of the imminent risk of losing personal savings.
Vardanyan and other defendants in the Cashberry Limited case
The key person of the company has always been a certain Arthur Vardanyan, born either in 1980, or 1981, or 1982. It was he who addressed potential investors in YouTube videos, assuring that his only mission as the founder of the company was to enrich all Cashbury investors. In his official biography, he indicated that he was born in 1983, that he was from Yekaterinburg, studied at a finance school in the Urals, and received a higher education in business law, but it is unlikely that any of this is true. As the trial began, as well as several independent journalistic investigations, many unexpected facts emerged. For example, a whole series of shell companies registered in British jurisdiction in the name of Arthur Vardanyan of different years of birth and the same spelling of the name in English. The discrepancies seem to be insignificant, but from a legal point of view it turns out that Casbbery Limited, Cashbery Group LTD, Cashberytrading LTD, as well as Cashbery International Limited with an absolutely fantastic authorized capital of 1 billion pounds sterling belong to completely different people, which means tracking the movement of funds, as well as it turns out to be much more difficult to prosecute.
There is a version that Artur Vardanyan, whoever he is, is simply a figurehead, a fake man. The real initiator and owner of illegally acquired capital is a certain Viktor Morozov. And according to classmates and teachers of the Faculty of Psychology, from which this elusive hero once left, Eduard Ryazanov appears in the YouTube videos as Vardanyan. It remains a mystery how, under such dark circumstances, the Central Bank could even issue a license to conduct financial activities.
In addition to Vardanyan, a special role in the promotion of Cashbury was played by Marina Meshcheryakova, a popular video blogger and director of the Krasnodar branch of the company, who single-handedly defended the entire scam on the well-known program “Let Them Talk.” Then Meshcheryakova, now known as Melikhova, defended Cashbury in every possible way, talking a lot about innovative business models and disruptive marketing. However, Meshcheryakova never said anything concrete or substantive.
When in September 2022, the Central Bank issued a verdict that Cashberry was nothing more than a pyramid and a scam, Meshcheryakova, aka Melikhova, released a video where she sobbed on camera, apologizing to the audience for calling people to invest in this enterprise. Subsequently, she managed to leave the game altogether, changing her surname and role. She is still the same successful blogger, almost 150 thousand subscribers, but now Meshcheryakova/Melikhova is not an investment consultant, but a people’s lawyer. In general, a fighting woman will not be lost.
Fraud scheme
According to the MFO law, funds for loans from individuals must be less than 1.5 billion rubles. The holding came up with a scheme that does not give rise to legal claims. Finance is attracted by the offshore company CASHBERY LIMITED through Cashbury, which acts as an intermediary. The resource contains a document on responsibility between the companies, but without the corresponding signatures. Therefore, it is not legal. In the public offer in clause 2.5 it is written that the administration is not responsible to the users of the site and has no obligations to them.
Cashbury advertising campaign and online promotion
To attract new victims, Cashbury not only encouraged aggressive network marketing, but also poured huge amounts of money into PR and promotion. To do this, the company used a very expensive, vulgar, but working method - attracting television and pop stars. Who hasn't gotten their hands dirty in this matter? Comedians from the Comedy Club participated in the company’s corporate event, advertising a financial scam on camera. Singer Nikolai Baskov not only actively sold his face, encouraging people to invest in the scam, but also sang the corporate anthem “Cashbury”. Olga Buzova dedicated more than one post on the social network Instagram to Sharashka’s office. Even Miladze appeared in the case.
When everything collapsed, Nikolai Baskov and Olga Buzova were the unluckiest of all, although who knows, black PR is also PR. The fact is that the pop performers were sued by one of the bankrupt investors who fell for their advertising. The appeal said that the stars spoke so sincerely about the possibilities of Cashbury on TV that Dmitry Ruzhnikov believed them and invested all his savings in the pyramid. Being a disabled person of the first group (cerebral palsy), the deceived student lost everything and now did not know what to do next.
However, Dmitry Ruzhnikov was not the only one who tried to return his funds and punish the attackers. On the social network VKontakte, investors of the collapsed Cashbury even created a group for mutual assistance in going to court. However, there was practically no practical benefit from all this hectic activity.
Fata Morgana in Russian...
And the adherents are all swaggering around, and gullible citizens are discussing everything on benches and in kitchens... oh, no, on forums and in personal accounts, whether to withdraw their money or wait a little longer...
There are probably such... converts among your friends!
Young and smart, who have already had a short career and receive a good salary by local standards. But those who dream of more, those who seek...
Suddenly they leave their jobs with a scandal (I don’t want to work for someone else’s uncle anymore!), investing every penny into a super project, taking out crazy loans for themselves, relatives and friends, investing them too.
Those who preach with a sparkle in their eyes and grin contemptuously at those who doubt... God be with them, there will probably always be such people.
There are others too. Those who know exactly which side the butter is on this sandwich are aware of at whose expense and by what means the dodgers will enrich themselves. Those who want to break into the front rows in order to have time to sip from the first (and last) ladle.
Organizers of conferences, seminars and forums, adepts who not only actively attract new victims through their referral links, but also keep an eye on the tricks and schemes of leading scammers.
Those who also dream of opening their own small “business” in cosmetics, medical devices, dietary supplements, gas detectors, vacuum cleaners...
There will always be socially unprotected people who “live by” on penny pensions; plowing for pennies without prospects or hope; desperate to get out of lack of money. Without understanding or consideration, those who give away their coins for just the illusory hope of improving something in their life...
So the crowd in the Field of Miracles in our country, where overseas “technologies” of fooling have poured in, but the corresponding laws have not yet reached, is ensured.
How Cashbury turned into GDC – Global Decentralized Community
According to statistics from the Department of Finance, about 200 pyramids of varying degrees of popularity appear in Russia every year, and scammers have long known how to smoothly and painlessly neutralize the negativity and claims of the masses. Rule No. 1 for a pyramid that has collapsed is to give hope that everything will work out, you just have to wait. Yes, payments are stopped, accounts are frozen, official websites do not work, but the front men of the scams continue to get in touch, swearing that they are doing everything possible. Third-party sites are launched with a countdown counter instead of a stub - there are 30, 40, 50, 90 days left before the service resumes. And when the counter expires, it simply starts again without any explanation. After all, it says “85 days left until restart,” what’s unclear here?
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Another way to stall for time and wait for people to cool down is to announce the relaunch of the hype under a new name. But there are nuances. In order for a client’s deposit to be transferred from the old account to the new one, a certain amount must be deposited. When an investor has lost a million, it is not difficult to encourage him to put in another 50 thousand in order to supposedly return this million.
What investors can expect
Not a single pyramid in the entire history of its existence has returned deposits in full. The participants of the structure receive income at the first stage. Those who invested later do not have a chance to increase their capital and return the entire amount. Finance expert D. Zolotov said that “it does not have instruments that bring high returns.”
Investors can only rely on the conscience of the founders, the measures of law enforcement agencies and accept the loss in advance. Lawyers explain that people can count on partial compensation paid by the Federal Fund for the Protection of Investor Rights. And only if Cashbury is recognized as a pyramid and added to the appropriate list, which does not always happen. When a company is entered into the register, people will be able to receive 25 thousand rubles. after the court recognizes them as victims.
Breaking the covers
On November 1, 2022, the Cashbury financial pyramid and a group of related projects officially announced the cessation of operations. The head of the holding, Artur Vardanyan, stated this in his video message. He announced a further inability to register for all related projects. In this regard, the fulfillment of all obligations is terminated.
During the address, Vardanyan also announced the creation of a new project - the Global Decentralized Community ( GDC ), which will come into force in the new year. All depositors from Cashbury are automatically transferred there. He optimistically believes that in the first year the company will be able to attract about five million investors, and in the second year it will grow to thirty.
Amount of deposits: 924,000 rub.
11.12.2017 ======================== Invested 210,000 rubles.
19.03.2018 ======================== I decided to increase by 170,000 rubles. (6 Ethereum)
30.08.2018 ======================== Increased by 0.5 BTC (243,000 rub.)
27.09.2018 ======================== planned increase of 300,000 rubles.
Bonuses from Cashbury
Quite often, investment projects, which I have already written about on GQ Blog Monitor, offer attractive and tempting bonuses. The current project was no exception. If you are counting on them, then you should pay attention to one or more positions for receiving them:
- Registration (quite a pleasant moment);
- News reposts and active comments on social networks;
- Attracting referrals.
But at the same time, one important clarification remains: your bonuses are not added to the deposit, they cannot be withdrawn, you can use them in the internal Cashbury store. They can pay up to half the cost of the goods.
affiliate program
The system is designed in such a way that everyone can become a co-owner of the company, and without much time investment. In fact, the affiliate program offers the purchase of its shares to any new or existing customers. I can’t yet say about the prospects of this type of affiliate program, but some experts predict the growth of Cashbury shares from 2 to 80% per month. The referral program consists of 5 levels: 8% - 2% and 1%. It only works with an active deposit. Additionally, an active ladder of partners is provided.
Tariff plans
Everything here is quite simple - the more money entered, the higher the interest rate provided. It is worthwhile to dwell separately on insurance of risks within the system. For this purpose, two schemes have been proposed:
- Reliable deposit - Cashbury undertakes to fully return all insured funds in the event of non-payment by the borrower. In most cases, insurance is paid and costs five percent of the deposit amount.
- Reliable borrower is an additional option available to all clients who have signed up for a “Reliable Deposit”. It guarantees receipt of a portion of the profit and the removal from the borrower of all risks associated with non-payment of funds. The cost of this insurance varies from six to ten percent of the deposit amount.
Not without its own cryptocurrency. We didn’t think about the name of the coin for a long time – “Cashbery Coin”. Here is her course for today:
Official representative offices
Cashbury approached the organization of work very thoroughly. They opened four offices throughout Russia in order to declare their physical work in the country:
While conducting an active PR campaign, Cashbery representatives registered official channels and groups on all popular social networks. By regularly publishing news and positive reviews, they kept users active in every way. True, any negative reviews were eradicated almost immediately after their appearance.
Referral MLM system
Of course, Cashbury is actively advertised through its own investors. There are several ways to receive various bonuses within the system:
- Referral link - system participants have the opportunity to attract users, receiving 40 rubles for each registered person. And also a certain percentage of their own contributions.
- Managerial bonuses - like any network structure, Cashbury encourages investors to attract new participants. The more people and money you attract, the higher the declared bonuses.
- Particularly active participants in the system can receive director's bonuses or even become the head of their own office and receive a percentage of its turnover.
