Six Italian Senators begin to ask questions of their Minister for Economic Development about 'MLM' cultic rackets.

Statutory Warning

More than half a century of quantifiable evidence, proves beyond all reasonable doubt that:

• what has become popularly-known as 'Multi-Level Marketing' (aka 'Network Marketing') is nothing more than an absurd, cultic, economic pseudo-science.

• the impressive-sounding made-up term 'MLM,' is, therefore, part of an extensive, thought-stopping, non-traditional jargon which has been developed, and constantly-repeated, by the instigators, and associates, of various, copy-cat, major, and minor, ongoing organised crime groups (hiding behind labyrinths of legally-registered corporate structures) to shut-down the critical, and evaluative, faculties of victims, and of casual observers, in order to perpetrate, and dissimulate, a series of blame-the-victim rigged-market swindles or pyramid scams (dressed up as 'legitimate direct selling income opportunites'), and related advance-fee frauds (dressed up as 'legitimate training and motivation, self-betterment, programs, recruitment leads, lead generation systems,' etc.).
• Apart from an insignificant minority of exemplary shills who pretend that anyone can achieve success, the hidden overall loss/churn rate for participation in so-called 'MLM income opportunities,' has always  been effectively 100%.

David Brear (copyright 2018)

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Senator Lucrezia Ricchiuti
http://www.senato.it/leg/17/BGT/Schede/Attsen/00029167.htm


Senator Francesco Campanella
http://www.senato.it/leg/17/BGT/Schede/Attsen/00029058.htm


Senator Nerina Derindin
http://www.senato.it/leg/17/BGT/Schede/Attsen/00029088.htm


Senator Paolo Corsini
http://www.senato.it/leg/17/BGT/Schede/Attsen/00004387.htm

Senator Maria Grazia Gatti http://www.senato.it/leg/17/BGT/Schede/Attsen/00025495.htm
Senator Doris Lo Moro
http://www.senato.it/leg/17/BGT/Schede/Attsen/00025477.htm

http://www.senato.it/japp/bgt/showdoc/frame.jsp?tipodoc=Resaula&leg=17&id=01062601&part=doc_dc-allegatob_ab-sezionetit_icrdrs-atto_408533&parse=no


13th December 2017

RICCHIUTI , CAMPANELLA , DIRINDIN , CORSINI , GATTI , LO MORO - To the Minister of Economic Development - Given that:

a "sales pyramid" is defined as that commercial sales model in which the consumer provides a contribution in exchange for the possibility of receiving a consideration deriving mainly from the entry of other consumers into the system, rather than from the sale or consumption of products;

although declared illegal by the legislator with the provisions of Article 23 of Legislative Decree 6 September 2005, n. 206, so-called consumer code, as well as by the law of August 17, 2005, n. 173, on the discipline of direct home sales and consumer protection from pyramid sales, this model seems to still find space on the Italian market;

the reasons for the spread of the phenomenon can be traced above all in the use of deceptive marketing to the detriment of the economically weaker consumers, through promises of significant commercial opportunities and significant gains that are not maintained in the vast majority of cases;

whereas

confirming the diffusion of the practice, it is possible to recall the work of contrasting the pyramidal sales carried out during the last three years by the Italian Competition Authority, with particular reference to the Authority's provisions which imposed sanctions for a total of 500,000 euros to the companies Vemma Italia, Asea Italy and Organo golden Europe for illicit multilevel sales of drinks, of 455,000 euros to the Dexcar company for car rental services and over 2,500,000 euros to companies that promoted the purchase of the OneCoin virtual currency;

similar models contribute to significantly damage the Italian economic-social fabric due to a spread that exceeds the cases referred to, as also highlighted by some consumer associations in 2017;

in this regard, it is possible to recall the cases already covered by the AGCM, of the commercial models adopted by the company Vantage group Srl for the financing of the purchase of cars that will have to display advertisements on the bodywork, as well as the Italian branch of the US multinational Herbalife Ltd, with reference to which, according to the data contained in the statement, more than 84 per cent of the producers who in Italy have joined the company's sales programs have not had any economic return, in any case of the access fees;

despite the regulatory intervention, there seems to be an evident difficulty in distinguishing between legitimate multilevel marketing cases and pyramid sales in which sales revenues are marginal compared to those obtained by the entry of new subjects into the commercial circuit,

you ask to know:

if the Minister in the address is aware of the above;

which actions of its own competence intends to promote to contain the phenomenon, safeguarding Italian consumers involved in unfair commercial practices;

which actions it intends to promote in order to deepen the study of the commercial models of companies such as Vantage group Srl and Herbalife Ltd in order to guarantee a better protection of Italian consumers.

(4-08533)