The Multimillion-Dollar Scam of "Virtual Cows" Shaking Uruguay, One of the World's Most Cattle-Producing Countries

A prominent businessman who commits suicide, hundreds of millions of dollars that vanish, thousands and thousands of supposed cattle of which not even the bones exist, and one of the largest scams Uruguay has ever known. "We'll fatten your savings. Invest in the safest business in history," proclaimed Conexión Ganadera, a pioneering company in livestock investment funds in the small South American country where for every three people there are 10 cows. But what was supposed to be a flawless business ended up being a Ponzi scheme, a pyramid scam being investigated for alleged large-scale money laundering. The scandal exploded in the face of the world's most bovine country and exposed the shortcomings of an animal identification system of which Uruguay boasted as unique on the planet. The genesis of the deception Conexión Ganadera was born in 1999. It raised funds from investors—mainly local and Argentine—with the promise of being the link with rural producers. The investor would ...