More than ten years ago, Uladzimir invested tens of thousands of dollars in “solar panels of the future.” Today, all he has left is a stack of yellowed papers: certificates for non-existent panels, printed logins and passwords for personal accounts, and strange smartwatches that were once also sold as part of a technological ecosystem. Back then, he was promised a passive income of 20% in foreign currency, and his investments, according to his calculations, should have not only paid off but brought in a sum three to four times greater than the initial amount. Instead, he lost everything: his own money and the money of his loved ones, Onliner writes .
— This would have been a cool project if it had actually existed. The essence was this: a company builds solar power plants, you buy a panel, it operates as part of the station, the station sells electricity to the country’s energy system, and you receive dividends. They promised about 20% annual return in dollars for 20 years.
I was told about this in February 2014. A friend came to me and said: “Volodya, there’s a scheme.” I immediately replied that I didn’t need dubious “schemes.” But he said: “No, wait, there’s one big plus here. You invest money, and it starts working for you.” He suggested listening to the details at a presentation. I asked about the interest rate — he named a figure of about 20% in foreign currency. Banks at that time paid a maximum of 2-3%, so this interested me.
Thus, Uladzimir found himself at a meeting of the World Global Network (WGN) company in Minsk. The presentation was held in the building of a construction organization for a group of 30 people.
Siarhei F. spoke, who was introduced as a very successful businessman. He explained that the company sells packages for buying photovoltaic panels.
There was allegedly no risk, as the property was insured by the German company Allianz.
They showed us slides, videos about power plants in Romania, talked about offices worldwide and the founder — Italian Fabio Galdi. They mentioned the Kyoto Protocol and green energy.
One panel could be bought for approximately $1800. Of this amount, $1200 went to the panel itself, and the rest to delivery, maintenance, and “back office.” There was also a network component: for attracting new people, they promised a percentage of their investments.
In 2014 and 2015, I transferred a total of $23,250 for the purchase of panels.
I gave the money to Siarhei F. in cash — he convinced me that it was easier and there was no need to pay bank commission.
In his personal account on the website, Uladzimir saw the numbers constantly increasing: it was $28 thousand, then $30, then $32. This had a psychological effect.
After some time, certificates for the panels began to arrive. These were papers stating that you were the owner of a panel and a participant in the project. They arrived in packages via delivery. They also issued cards — supposedly the company’s payment system. In reality, it was just a cardboard card with a number.
Confident in success, Uladzimir brought his entire family into the project: his wife, children, father-in-law, and mother-in-law. However, it was forbidden to withdraw money for the first three years — supposedly for construction and profit accumulation.
Weekly meetings were held in Minsk, where “successful leaders” were showcased. People photographed themselves next to expensive cars, talked about millions in earnings and company-sponsored vacations.
Some people came, listened, and left. There were people who openly said: “Guys, this is a scam.” But many remained even after that.
Later, they started inviting people to international meetings. They traveled to Moscow, where large halls also gathered. There were many people, from different countries. It seemed that if so many people were participating in this, it couldn’t be a deception.
Over time, in addition to panels, other goods began to be sold within the structure — for example, mobile phones, bracelets, and virtual reality glasses.
— At first, they were bracelets — supposedly medical devices. They said they showed blood pressure, pulse, blood sugar levels. They cost about $300. If you buy one, the price is one, if you buy dozens — it’s cheaper. That is, they offered us to buy in bulk and resell them to friends and acquaintances. Later it turned out that all this worked very dubiously. My relatives, for an experiment, put such a bracelet on a sausage, and it showed blood pressure 120 over 80.
For three years, the numbers in Uladzimir’s personal account continued to change, and at meetings, he was still told that the stations were being built and everything was working. Gradually, the time approached when the first payments were supposed to begin, and it was at this moment that problems started.
— All this time, the account showed that the money was growing. We were reminded that for the first three years, money could not be withdrawn; this was a condition of the system. We took this calmly because it was stated from the beginning.
According to calculations, the first real payments should have started after about three years and eight months. But there were also those who entered the system earlier than me, and when their payment deadline approached, they started asking questions because they couldn’t withdraw money.
Some of them invested $20 thousand, some — $50 thousand, there were people who put in even $100 thousand.
In justification, company representatives told us that a restructuring was underway, allegedly there was a conflict between two structures: the one dealing with energy and the one with gadgets. They said that because of this, payments were temporarily frozen, but everything would soon resume.
Then another “scheme” appeared: we were offered to buy additional panels at a very favorable rate. At that time, the Russian ruble had sharply fallen — from 33 rubles per dollar to approximately 70. And we were told that now we could buy panels at the old price — at the rate of 33 rubles per dollar, practically almost twice cheaper. So I met with Siarhei F. again and handed him cash for the purchase of ten more panels. He said that he would go to Moscow and arrange them through the Russian office. Two weeks later, he returned and said that everything went successfully.
Then it was explained that, to withdraw funds from the system, a small payment had to be made — for example, $100, to activate the withdrawal. For example, a person was supposed to receive about $5 thousand, they transferred these $100 to enable withdrawal.
After that, the system simply stopped responding. The money did not arrive.
Panic began. People started calling Siarhei, asking what was happening, where the money was. At first, he said that these were temporary problems, that the company was sorting it out, and that everything would be restored soon.
Later, he started saying that there were legal complexities, that some lawsuits were ongoing between the companies.
Then he said that the situation was difficult, that the main person — Fabio Galdi — had also disappeared, that the company’s management was being sought and that they needed to deal with it through court.
In 2018, the victims turned to the police. The case was transferred to the Investigative Committee, but the investigation was suspended because the organizers could not be found. Siarhei F. stated that he was also a victim.
“In total, I lost approximately $35 thousand — this is counting panels, the purchase of bracelets, phones, trips, participation in conferences. But the hardest thing for me was not even the loss of money, but the fact that I involved my relatives, family, and acquaintances in this story. I told them about this project because I believed in it myself. Therefore, to not ruin relationships, I simply started returning their money from my own pocket.”
Today, Uladzimir understands: achieving a 20% annual return solely on solar energy is impossible. It was an ordinary pyramid scheme, where money was paid to some at the expense of others.
“I haven’t fully closed this chapter for myself. I understand that many years have passed, and I am not a naive person — I know that getting the money back now is very difficult. But, until there was a court ruling, I feel that the dot has not yet been put. So I am going to contact the Investigative Committee again. I want to file a statement, to reopen this case once more. Because there are cases when people are found after many years, and old cases are reopened.
I’m not thinking so much about the money anymore; for me, it’s important that it becomes clear what happened and who will be held accountable for it.”

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