Muslim Pioneer Investment Scandal
Question
In recent days, the Muslim Pioneer investment scandal has come to light. You also tweeted the following in this regard, “When it is too good to be true, be extremely cautious. Do not let greed and emotion overtake rationality and common sense. If £50k could turn into £110k in 12 months without any effort then a lot of people would just invest and stay at home. Work hard and earn a Halal income.”
The reality is that many millions of pounds have been lost in what was a carefully crafted Ponzi scheme. I also invested in this and made a lot of money at the beginning and also used some of the money to gift to family members. Basically, they were offering 10% return monthly. Overall, I have not lost any money as I withdrew most of my monies. My question is that the profits I made are they Ḥalāl for me? Also, what about the gifts I made to family members, are they Ḥalāl for them?
بسم الله الرحمن الرحیم
Answer
If indeed the Muslim Pioneer investment scheme was a Ponzi scheme from the outset, then any monies you have received other than your initial capital is not lawful for you. This is because the monies you received in the guise of profits, were actually monies belonging to other investors. Therefore, it is necessary to return the additional money to its rightful owners or donating it in charity without intention of reward if returning it to the rightful owners is not possible. In relation to the monies you have gifted to family members, you should politely explain to them what has transpired and request them to return or donate the money as mentioned.
To return the money to the rightful owners, under normal circumstances, the money would be returned to the company to distribute proportionately to the rightful owners. As this is not advisable with a fraudulent company, those who have lost their initial capital or a part of their initial capital can be identified and given an amount not exceeding the initial capital they invested. It must be ensured that any victim is not compensated for any lost profits, and any profits they received must also be factored in when determining how much capital they lost. An individual must cumulatively not receive more than the initial capital they invested and you must be 100% certain that they are not lying. If you are not certain, the money should be donated in charity as mentioned above. For further details, refer to our earlier answers entitled ITP Corp (Intelligent Technology Pioneer Corporation) and ITP Corporation Profits and Losses.
Finally, we advise people to be extremely cautious with their money and avoid being trapped in such investment schemes that are too good to be true. It is also unfortunate that the term Muslim appears to have been misused to manipulate the people. Allah Almighty guide us all.
قال الله تعالى: إن الله يأمركم أن تؤدوا الأمانات إلى أهلها. وقال السرخسي في شرح السير الكبير (ص ١١١٦): وما حصل بسبب خبيث فالسبيل رده، انتهى. وقال في المبسوط (١٢/١٧٢): والسبيل في الكسب الخبيث التصدق. وقال (٢٢/٦١): فإن ربح في ذلك، رد الربح على من أخذه منه إن كان يعرفه، لأنه أخذه منه بسبب فاسد، فيستحق رده عليه، وإن كان لا يعرفه تصدق به، لأنه حصل له بكسب خبيث، انتهى۔
وقال الكاساني في البدائع (٦/١١٩) وأقره في الهندية (٤/٣٧٤): ومنها أن يكون مملوكا للواهب فلا تجوز هبة مال الغير بغير إذنه لاستحالة تمليك ما ليس بمملوك، انتهى۔
Allah knows best
Yusuf Shabbir
16 Jumādā al-Ūlā 1446 / 18 November 2024
Approved by: Mufti Shabbir Ahmed and Mufti Muhammad Tahir
