Seven QNet promoters were arrested in Lomé, Togo, on June 20, 2023. Togo's National Police apprehended three Togolese and four Malian nationals, charging them with fraud and human trafficking. Authorities identified the group as part of a criminal network exploiting unemployed youth through an illegal pyramid scheme.

The Central Directorate of the Judicial Police in Togo described the operation as "a criminal network engaged in fraud and human trafficking." Promoters presented themselves as successful entrepreneurs, targeting vulnerable young people in Burkina Faso, Mali, and Togo with false promises of lucrative employment. Victims were often lured from their home countries with the prospect of legitimate jobs, only to find themselves ensnared in a different reality upon arrival in Lomé.

Once in the Togolese capital, the victims were reportedly kidnapped. Their contact with family members was severed, isolating them from their support networks. The perpetrators then coerced them into joining QNet's pyramid scheme. But enrollment was merely the beginning of their entrapment.

Each new recruit faced a stark choice: either find more individuals to join the scheme or remain captive. Entry fees demanded from victims ranged significantly, from 500,000 to 3,000,000 CFA francs, which is approximately $830 to $4,980 USD. Police reports indicate that the network systematically stripped victims of their personal property and financial resources to cover these fees. The only perceived path to freedom or financial return involved luring others into the same fraudulent system, a classic pyramid model augmented by forced recruitment and hostage-taking.

A subsequent raid on what police identified as QNet's Lomé headquarters uncovered 73 Togolese nationals and 21 foreign nationals being held against their will. Documents seized during the operation detailed the extent of the financial exploitation, showing that the network had collected 20,000,000 CFA francs, roughly $33,256 USD, from its victims. Investigators noted that one arrested promoter possessed significant assets in Lomé, including five buildings and multiple plots of land, indicating substantial illicit gains from the scheme.

During interrogation, the seven suspects confessed to their involvement in the fraud. They claimed membership in an organization that operated across "several countries in the sub-region," suggesting a broader, internationally managed criminal enterprise. The promoters further indicated that coordination for their activities originated from QNet's headquarters in Malaysia. All seven now face formal charges of fraud and human trafficking in Togo.

This crackdown in Togo reflects a wider pattern of QNet-related scams across West Africa. Neighboring Ghana, which shares a border with Togo, has a documented history of similar QNet hostage schemes. Ghanaian authorities banned QNet nationwide in February 2023 and subsequently arrested sixty QNet scammers. The tactics employed in Ghana mirrored those seen in Togo: victims were enticed with false promises of jobs in sectors like mining, sports, and food production, only to be kidnapped and forced into promoting QNet's scheme.

The timing of the Togolese arrests suggests that QNet operators may have shifted their activities from Ghana to Togo following the Ghanaian crackdown. Law enforcement officials anticipate that these fraudulent practices, including the kidnapping of recruits, will likely persist until Togo implements a similar nationwide ban on QNet's operations.

QNet, a company founded in 1998, runs its pyramid scheme from Malaysia. Vijay Eswaran is widely recognized as the individual at the top of the organization. For decades, QNet has faced accusations of facilitating human trafficking and financial exploitation across Africa, yet the company has consistently ignored these allegations as long as it receives its portion of the fees extracted from victims. Malaysian authorities have taken no significant action against Eswaran or QNet in the twenty-five years since its inception, despite numerous international complaints and widespread reports of fraudulent activities.

The arrests in Lomé bring seven individuals to face justice for crimes that collectively defrauded victims of over 20,000,000 CFA francs.