FIGHT AGAINST THE QNET PYRAMID SCHEME: The Republican Police Intensify the Crackdown in Benin and Internationally
Beninese authorities are hardening their offensive against pyramid scheme networks operating under the name QNET. Thanks to 24 targeted interventions conducted since April 2026 in Parakou, Godomey, and Taconoukon, the Republican Police have freed several hundred victims and presented 92 suspects to the Court for the Repression of Economic Crimes and Terrorism (CRIET), leading to numerous remand orders.
The operating method relies on dangling false opportunities:
The Targets: Young people seeking employment or professional training.
The Trap: Promises of apprenticeships, international experience, or rapid job placement.
The Enrolment: Victims are often lured by relatives, then isolated and held in secret gathering places to be exploited.
Coordinated by the Economic and Financial Brigade (BEF) and the Interpol bureau in Cotonou, the crackdown extends beyond Benin’s borders. Between May and July 2026, raids conducted in a neighboring English-speaking country led to:
The dismantling of 3 logistical sites.
The arrest and extradition of 5 key leaders of the network.
The release of about a hundred Beninese nationals held abroad.
This momentum is part of a long-term effort conducted jointly with other countries in the region (Togo, Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana):
Period Operations Persons Arrested Referred to CRIET
2018 – April 2026 Nearly 70 1,386 412
Since April 2026 24 – 92
Direct Warning to Real Estate Owners
To break the logistics of these organizations, the Republican Police are now targeting their indirect accomplices. Property owners or landlords who knowingly rent their homes or apartments to these networks will be directly targeted for legal prosecution for complicity in criminal activities. The government is thus signaling its determination to permanently dry up the breeding ground for these illegal structures.
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