Colombian authorities closed a number of offices of DMG, a popular
investment company accused of money laundering and the use of pyramid
schemes. The government declared a state of Social Emergency to have
extra tools to deal with these schemes that have already led to the
loss of $US290 million of mostly poor Colombians in the south.
The Government and DGM have been in conflict for a long time. Bogotá says the company launders drug money and is scamming its investors.
DMG in return says its money flows are transparent and legal. They accuse Grupo Aval, Colombia’s largest banking consortium, of wanting to eliminate their competitor. Banks in Colombia are barely used by poor people, because they charge a monthly fee for having a bank account and for every transaction made.
Thousands of people took the streets in Bogotá Saturday, defending DMG.
The government plans to close the offices of DMG in twenty of the country’s cities and seek the shutting down of the country’s many pyramid schemes.