Peregraf- Ghamgin Mohammed
All Sardar Hussein had to support his family was a three-wheeled motorcycle with a trailer, which he used to gather boxes and other material to sell to recyclers.
One day, his friend told him about an investment opportunity where he could make a lot of money in a short period of time. He sold the vehicle for $1,400 and put the money into the scheme, which turned out to be fraudulent.
"It was my first time participating in such a program. I don't know if I completely destroyed my life," Hussein told Peregraf.
"I haven’t been sleeping and eating for days. I've been sitting in front of the [website] and praying. If only I can get the money back. I won't get near to such a program ever again," he added.
The fraud scheme was called Jawa Eye and shut down on April 17. It was allegedly a platform for members of the public to invest in the international film industry. Although investors could withdraw their money when they wished, they were incentivized to keep putting more money in the scheme in order to seek better profits.
Aram Kareem, an IT expert, told Peregraf that these kinds of schemes have no guarantees. The fraudsters have a target amount that they hope to earn. Once this is reached, the scheme is shuttered without warning.
"No one will be held accountable for those who were harmed," Kareem said.
He explained the method of participation; For example, they claim that by contributing $2,500, they will eventually earn $9,000; By buying movie tickets for $10 each, the participant will earn 25 cents for each ticket. If he buys 10 tickets for $100, he will earn $2.50. If he buys 100 tickets for $1,000, he will earn dollars, which means that the amount of profit is higher based on the purchase of more tickets.
Another victim of the fraud, Kawa Jamal, said that he had $5,500 invested when Jawa Eye suddenly shut down.
"I don't know what happened. Someone took the money out of my pocket and stole it," Jamal said. "I first decided to sue, but then I thought about who to name in the complaint and who is responsible…It is not clear who took the money."
Digital money transfers are a relatively new phenomenon in Iraq and it is not fully regulated by the Iraqi Penal Code. Lawyer Goran Mad told Peregraf that people who had their money stolen in the Jawa Eye fraud have the right to sue under the law, but may have trouble doing so because they cannot identify a defendant.
"One of the conditions for filing a complaint is that it must be done directly against the person who has harmed you," Mad said.
Sulaimaniyah Police Spokesperson Sarkawt Ahmed told Peregraf that no formal legal complaints have been filed in relations with Jawa Eye because it is not clear who was behind the scheme and, therefore, there is no clear defendant.
The Jawa Eye website was operational for eight months and 19 days and claimed to have facilitated transitions in 172 countries. Allegedly, more than 10,000 people in the Kurdistan Region invested money in the scheme, amounting to tens of millions of dollars.
Like many frauds, the victims come from a range of professions and include doctors, teachers, lawyers, and ordinary citizens. They are angry not just at the perpetrators of the fraud but a number of prominent figures on social media who promoted the scheme, but who have now gone silent.
According to some reports, the person behind the fraud is an Indonesian citizen working through intermediaries. Money invested by participants were sent through bank transfers with a ten percent commission for the organizers.
Aros Samal told Peregraf that he had been victimized by fraud schemes in the past, particularly one known as Qatar Oil which claimed to be trading oil in return for cryptocurrency.
"I lost so much money in in Qatar Oil," Samal told Peregraf. "I knew from the beginning when Jawa Eye came out. My hand was burned, so I didn’t participate. But after a few months, I couldn’t help myself and I invested $185."
Eventually, he would put in $2,500. He then received a message that if he kept his money invested instead of withdrawing it, he would receive a $9,000 return on his investment.
"So, I waited for more offers. Now, the program is closed and I can’t withdraw my money," Samal said.
The adoption of new technologies can signal the economic development of a country and the use of electronic transfers fits in with that thinking. But this is the case only if the economic activity is legitimate and not fraudulent.
Khalid Haider, an economist, explained to Peregraf that schemes that promise to double or triple an investor’s money in a short period of time are a huge red flag for fraud.
"Everyone needs to stay away from this kind of thing to protect their income," Haider said.
Victims of the fraud acknowledged that they did not trust the people behind Jawa Eye and that it was risky, but that the lure of easy profits was too great.
"I could pull out a real amount of $2,500 into my own hands," Samal said. "But with the many offers they send you, it makes it easy for you to keep the money invested and continue to participate."
The victims were completely taken by surprise when the scheme suddenly folded. Just two hours before the website shut down, the organizers had advertised an investment where putting in $500 could yield a $2,500 profit.
For now, the investors are left with little recourse to recoup their losses.
"The money is gone," said Karim.