There's a sucker born every minute

Over the past few months, Jordan has seen the proliferation of agents working for “bourses”; taking money from people on the promise of 10, 15, 20% or more monthly interest. Ads are even placed in small advertising newspapers offering incredible rewards for “investors” interested in cashing in.

And since greed usually wins over good sense, these brokers are taking in millions from people, collecting more as they make their promised payments on time. Some people believe that tens or hundreds of millions have been collected this way as people empty their bank accounts, sell their assets and even take out loans from banks so that they can invest in the “boursa”.

Another adage says that the law does not protect the gullible. However, many people are wondering why the government is not doing anything about this situation. One story says that the government prevented one of these agents from traveling on his honeymoon, fearing that he wanted to flee. However, little is being done to shut these operations down or, if they are technically legal, to raise awareness on how these people work and what are the risks involved in these investments. Obviously, no legitimate operation can guarantee such high returns. These are either high risk or they are simply scams. In either case, many people will soon be in for rude awakenings.

And some of these schemes are starting to fall apart. One broker is reported to have fled the country, leaving behind over a million dinars in losses. Another is said to be in jail after losing 35 million dinars in oil trading. I am sure more are on the way.

But the question remains: Why is the government so passive about this? Is it negligence, impotence or complicity?

On the bright side, at least we don't have a CASINO!