From the Daily News Egypt:
Over 1000 rioters in Qalyoubia attacked on Thursday the home of Ramadan Al-Zeini, a member of parliament for the ruling National Democratic Party, suspecting him of having connections with pyramid scheme mastermind Rayan Al-Qalyoubia.
He was dubbed “Rayan Al-Qalyoubia” by the media in reference to the infamous 1980s’ scam hatched by Ahmad El Rayan, who was accused of collecting money from citizens for high-interest rate investment, after which pyramid schemes were made illegal in Egypt.
Police used tear gas to disperse the angry rioters who also destroyed shops in Qalyoubia, a governorate north of Cairo, security sources said.
The riot began as a protest by hundreds of village residents who had been defrauded of their savings by a man who, the press reported, had amassed around LE 300 million by promising to invest their money and pay them regular returns.
The villagers say the man stopped paying them several months ago and had since disappeared, according to the sources.
Protesters fired shots in the air, burned rubber tyres, and stormed Al-Zeini’s house, ransacking it and dumping his possessions onto the street.
They also threatened to detonate a gas cylinder in Al-Zeini’s home.
The rioters later looted and destroyed at least six shops they suspected were connected to the scammers, and burned 15 cars parked in front of Al-Zeini’s home.
