Famous Rwandan female musician Jeanne d’Arc Butera, a.k.a Knowless is being investigated by Rwanda Investigation Bureau (RIB) accused of operating an illegal pyramid scheme, a Police source confirmed Thursday to APA in Kigali.
According to the case, as one of the leaders of the “Happy Family,” a pyramid scheme that was made up of more than 150 people overall, Butera defaulted payment of Rwf1,350,000 (about $1,400 USD) to one of the members.
Details of when the scheme was established are still scanty, but it is understood that it resolved operations in May 2021, and a decision was taken to refund each of the members, depending on how much they had invested into it.
RIB, through their Spokesperson Thierry Murangira, confirmed that they received the case against Knowless.
“Yes, we received her case yesterday, and it is set to undergo normal judicial procedures,” he said.
According to sources, the famous female musician had earned over Rwf8 million (about $ 8,000 USD) from this pyramid scheme.
In 2013, Rwanda banned operations of any kind of a pyramid business in the country.
In pyramid schemes, promoters recruit people and require them to pay a fixed membership fee and promise them to be paid a certain amount of money for each new recruit they bring into the system.
CU/abj/APA