emgoldex-logoThere is no information on the EmGoldex website indicating who owns or runs the business.

On the EmGoldex wbesite there is an “about program” section, on which it’s claimed:

The Emgoldex Trade Dmcc is registered in a certified free economic zone Dubai Multi Commodities Centre – DMCC.

The Emgoldex Trade Dmcc company is registered and obtains the licence in the free economic zone Dubai Multi Commodities Center for trade in Gold and Precious Metals all over the world. The company operates with the maximum profit for its customers.

Who registered the company however is not disclosed.

The EmGoldex website domain (“emgoldex.com”) was registered on the 19th of April 2011, however only “Emgoldex Trade DMCC” is provided as the registered owner of the domain. Who exactly owns this company remains a mystery.

As always, if a MLM company is not openly upfront about who is running or owns it, think long and hard about joining and/or handing over any money.

The EmGoldex Product Line

EmGoldex list various gold bars from third-party suppliers on their website, however if one tries to purchase anything an affiliate login in required.

EmGoldex’s product range infact appears to be that of unrelated third-party vendors. The company itself doesn’t appear to market anything other than 540 EUR matrix positions.

The EmGoldex Compensation Plan

The compensation plan explanation provided on the EmGoldex website is attrocious.

The “terms of a marketing program” provided make little sense and is clearly designed to confuse the reader. Here’s a snippet:

If to the order of the buyer maximum compensation isn’t charged after passage of two cycles of the Main table, the Owner of the order has the right to finish the Order at the expense of money resources to the full sum of execution of the order and to receive bars of investment gold or to receive already available bars from storehouse or to sell them back to the company. The order will be considered as finished. The buyer can issue a new order by reinvesting 540 credit bonuses for 2 more cycles.

A much simpler to understand “affiliates only” slideshow presentation appears to have been published by the company, and reveals that the EmGoldex opportunity revolves around a simply 540 EUR buy-in from affiliates.

This presentation can be found widely circulated by EmGoldex in a number of languages, primarily being Spanish, Portuguese and Russian. The same slideshow is used, indicating that this is an official company presentation.

As such, this is what I have based the EmGoldex compensation plan analysis below on.

Matrix Commissions

When an EmGoldex affiliate buys into the compensation plan for 540 EUR, they are placed in a reverse 2×3 matrix.

A reverse 2×3 matrix feeds an affiliate who has just paid their 540 EUR buy-in fee, through the bottom of a 2×3 matrix.

A 2×3 matrix has fourteen positions in total, eight along the bottom, four one level up, two the next level up and one position at the top. level 3.

ROI-emgoldex-compensation-plan

Commissions are paid out once the bottom level (eight positions) are all filled. At this point 3500 EUR is paid on the position at the top of the matrix, and two new matrices are created from the two positions directly under the paid position.

Note that EmGoldex charge a 7% fee on the 3500 EUR commission, meaning an affiliate actually is actually paid 3255 EUR.

This creates two independent rows of empty 8 positions (the previous eight positions move up a level to form two new level 3 levels in their respective matrices), which must be filled in order for the matrix to split again.

In this manner, when a newly recruited EmGoldex affiliate pays their buy-in fee, they are fed into the bottom of an existing 2×3 matrix. When all eight positions are filled, they move up to the four position level.

When the eight positions below them are filled, they move up to the two position level. And when the eight positions of that matrix are filled, they move up to the two position level, and then again finally to the payment level.

A total of four lots of 8 are required for an EmGoldex affiliate to see a return on their 540 EUR buy-in. Note that this figure could be slightly less, depending on how many positions are already filled in the first matrix they are placed at the bottom of.

Once a position is paid out on, I believe an EmGoldex affiliate is entered into the bottom of another matrix. From here the process repeats itself again.

One 540 EUR position is able to cycle through twice, after which an affiliate must invest 540 EUR again if they wish to purchase another matrix position.

Matrix Commission Qualification

Using the matrix structure described above, it’s important to note that a 3500 EUR commission payout is payable only if an EmGoldex affiliate meets the following recruitment requirements.

In order to qualify for the full 3500 EUR matrix commission, an EmGoldex affiliate must recruit 2 new affiliates in the same level they are initially placed in. They must then do the same when they move up a level, filling out two of the newly created eight empty positions below them with two personal recruits.

If an affiliate fails to recruit these new affiliates while they are in the first and second level of a matrix, they earn a reduced amount. The EmGoldex compensation plan does not mention how reduced this commission payout is.

Also note that it’s not explicitly mentioned, but I believe affiliates who do not recruit are still paid a matrix commission, albeit well below the advertised 3500 EUR amount.

Joining EmGoldex

Affiliate membership to EmGoldex is 540 EUR. An affiliate may spend more than this when they join the company, depending on how many matrix positions they wish to purchase.

Conclusion

Using the familiar reverse-matrix compensation plans that were popular a few years back, EmGoldex simply changes what the plan is attached to. Instead of travel discounts, this time around it’s gold bars.

Unfortunately the recruitment-driven nature of the compensation plan remains. Under the guise of “investment in gold bars”, EmGoldex is little more than a 540 EUR Ponzi buy-in scheme.

business-model-emgoldex

Affiliates buy in for 540 EUR, and when 26-32 new investments have been made (variable depending on how many of the original eight positions have been filled when the buy-in is made), a 3500 EUR is paid out.

A pyramid scheme element exists on top of this, with EmGoldex affiliates being paid a variable ROI, subject to their personal recruiting efforts. Capped at the recruitment of four new affiliates (who all must buy-in), anything less results in a lesser ROI payout.

As far as gold goes, it’s correlation within the EmGoldex business model is nothing more beyond the offering of conversion of an affiliates 3500 EUR. An affiliate can opt to be paid in cash or gold (transport fees apply unless the gold is picked up).

There is no gold purchasing or selling, unless an EmGoldex affiliate is paid out – and then only if they opt to be paid in gold. Up until that point, EmGoldex are simply taking new affiliate funds (in EUR, not gold) and using them to pay off existing investors.

If an affiliate opts to keep their ROI with EmGoldex, the company charges a 0.1% monthly fee on the balance. This is done under the guise of being a “storage fee”, however in reality is just another fee charged to affiliates to keep more money trapped in the system.

Retail in EmGoldex is non-existent, with all money flowing in via their MLM business being from affiliates. A “webshop” features on the EmGoldex page, but if one clicks the shopping cart item, affiliate login details are required.

As such, all payouts in commission to affiliates are naturally sourced from affiliates, creating a closed-loop Ponzi/pyramid scheme hybrid.

Once affiliates stop buying new positions, the matrices stall and nobody gets paid. EmGoldex make 7% on every 3500 EUR affiliate payout, so at that point the admin cuts and runs – leaving anyone with an uncycled matrix position holding the bag.

 

Update 4th July 2015 – In June 2015, EmGoldex changed the name of their company to Global InterGold.