Such is the case of Omar, a young Egyptian who used to work drilling wells. On the recommendation of a friend, he gave up everything, even selling his tools, to join the QNET business. « Once you’ve paid the asking price, you’re at the recruiter’s mercy. We let ourselves be manipulated in the hope of getting at least part of the money back, » recounts the victim in a video from 2019.

« It was only after buying the product that I was told that only 4% of candidates succeed in the business. To be one of them, I had to fool the people around me to get them into the scheme »

Another victim recounts in the same video: « It was only after buying the product that I was told that only 4% of candidates succeed in the business. In order to be one of them, I had to trick the people around me into joining the scheme« .

But it is undoubtedly in West African countries that QNET wreaks the most havoc. The company has been condemned and its activities banned in many countries in the region. In July 2024, Burkina Faso banned all activities linked to the QNET network.

«  In view of the real risks posed by these illegal activities, the government informs public opinion, QNET representatives and promoters that the pyramid selling activities of the QNET network are prohibited throughout the country as of the date of signature of this press release, until further notice », ordered the Burkina Faso government.

In Cameroon, QNET Africa Market’s activity was suspended in March 2023 by decision of the Ministry of Commerce. The company was suspected of « misappropriation of the purpose of the approval granted by order of August 12, 2021 (…) and for prohibited commercial practices (…), acts committed to the detriment of the populations of the Menoua department, West region », reads the Ministry’s decision.

Abdelkérim Souleymane Chérif, Director of Chad’s National Financial Investigation Agency, does not mince his words. « QNET is a criminal enterprise whose practices are prohibited in many countries, including the United States, Canada, Rwanda, Ghana, Nigeria, South Africa and most African countries. And for good reason: in all these countries, it has claimed countless victims and further weakened the most precarious households« , declared the senior official in a press briefing held in July 2019.

Written by Amine Belghazi. Edited in English by S.E.