Chia Tai Tianqing Pharmaceutical, a Ponzi scheme, coaxes $360,883 out of Astana residents

The company was allegedly engaged in the production of medical equipment and drugs in China / Photo: Shutterstock

The Financial Monitoring Agency initiated legal actions against the organizer of the Astana representative office of Chia Tai Tianqing Pharmaceutical, a Ponzi scheme.

What happened? The Financial Monitoring Agency has arrested the head of the Chia Tai Tianqing Pharmaceutical representative office in Astana as it turned out to be a Ponzi scheme.

How did the financial pyramid work? The perpetrators pretended to be entrepreneurs engaged in the production and export of pharmaceutical products and medical equipment in China. As a result, more than 100 residents of Astana put $360,883 into this financial pyramid.

«People were offered to invest money in the company’s business, with a high rate of return on numerous projects,» the agency said.

What do we know about the company? There is almost no information in open sources about Chia Tai Pharmaceutical, which is also known as Chia Tai Tianqing. The company is not registered as a legal entity in Kazakhstan. It has a Telegram channel with 3,700 subscribers, although the last post there was made on April 16, 2023. Interestingly, the eponymous Chia Tai Tianqing Pharmaceutical is one of the largest pharmaceutical companies in China.

The context. In April, the Financial Monitoring Agency reported that two leaders of Chia Tai Tianqing, a Ponzi scheme, were detained in Almaty. At the same time, law enforcement officials launched a pre-trial investigation into the creation and management of the financial pyramid. According to the agency, the company persuaded regular people to take part in the financial pyramid scheme under the pretext of investment in the development of biologically active supplements and other medical products allegedly produced by the company. The company promised to pay bonuses to those who invested cash in Chia Tai and brought other potential investors with them.

In June, the agency launched an investigation into the Chia Tai Tianqing Group case in Shymkent. An individual suspected in the creation and management of the Ponzi scheme was put under house arrest. Over the period from September 2022 to April 2023, more than 40 residents of Shymkent invested $178,293 in this financial pyramid.

On November 1, some media outlets reported that the Financial Monitoring Agency filed a legal case against the organizers of Chia Tai Tianqing Pharmaceutical financial pyramids in the West Kazakhstan, Aktobe and Atyrau regions. During this criminal activity, perpetrators managed to coax $1,117,021 out of regular residents of these regions.