Nepal’s top financial regulator has issued an illegality warning against Crowd1, HyperFund and Solmax Global.

The Nepal Rastra Bank identifies Crowd1, HyperFund and Solmax Global, as MLM companies utilizing cryptocurrency.

Network marketing (MLM) and cryptocurrency are both illegal in Nepal.

Crowd1 is a long-running MLM Ponzi scheme whose latest offering sees affiliates investing in a UK shell company. Investment is also solicited through a crypto NFT “game”.

Following several regulatory warnings, HyperFund rebranded itself as Hyperverse in late 2021. The Ponzi scheme is looking to get into NFT fraud but is plagued with ongoing withdrawal problems.

Solmax Global was an MLM crypto Ponzi scheme launched in 2018. Solmax Global was primarily promoted across Pakistan, to the east of which lies Nepal.

Solmax Global collapsed in October 2021. A reboot was immediately announced.

The Nepal Rastra Bank’s warning was issued on January 23rd.

On January 26th the Himalayan Times reported Nepal’s Department of Revenue Investigation has taken action against four individuals.

The DRI filed a case against the suspects, three of which are family members, following an investigation into their promotion of Crowd1, HyperFund and Solmax Global.

The DRI managed to recover Rs. 370 million from the scammers ($3 million USD).