The Canadian company Impero Solutions, which claimed to offer attractive online investments, has scammed several thousand investors around the world since late 2020, many of them in West Africa. Contacted by a victim of this fraud, the FRANCE 24 Observers team investigated the company’s methods, which centre around a persuasive marketing strategy and fraudulent documents claiming that the company was authorised and guaranteed by the Canadian government.
Impero Solutions, created in 2020, presented itself as a “leading global investment company that manages multiple asset classes.”
Based in Canada, the company promised short-term investment packages offering returns ranging from 11.6% for $50 invested over 16 business days, to 230% for an investment of $75,000 to $1 million over 100 business days, with the option to reinvest at the end of the period. They offered annual returns of over 500%, ten times higher than the best-performing traditional investment funds.
Promotional videos on the company’s website gave potential customers step-by-step instructions on how to sign up and make deposits, but gave no indication of how the company would invest and grow the money. In one video, a woman explains that customers can deposit money using “e-wallet” accounts such as PerfectMoney, a popular online payment service in West Africa, or three major cryptocurrencies: Bitcoin, Ethereum and…
