SINGAPORE, Sept 5 — Singaporeans recruited into a long-running investment scheme in China were promised cheap luxury living and a share of Nanning’s economic boom, but some found themselves closely watched and pressured to recruit friends and relatives.

One Singaporean public servant, identified only as Alice, told The Straits Times she was taken on a five-day trip to Nanning in Guangxi back in March after a friend pitched it as an investment opportunity.

She said she was not allowed to explore the city alone, with someone accompanying her everywhere and even following her to the toilet.

During a city tour, she was told: “We cannot get out of the car at all.”

Alice said she was also made to attend mandatory sales sessions in a condominium unit fitted with CCTV cameras, where recruiters promoted the scheme as a way for Singaporeans to “ride the China wave”.

Potential investors were told they could recoup their money by recruiting others, with each new participant said to be worth about S$10,000 (RM31,900).

Participants were expected to pay between S$26,000 and S$50,000 (RM83,000 and RM159,600), although recruiters were vague about what the money was actually being invested in.

Alice said she eventually paid S$70 (RM223) as a “promise fee” after becoming frightened by what she described as a “cult-like” environment, fearing she would not be allowed to leave if she refused.

While earlier news reports referred to the case as suspected pyramid scheme activity, The Straits Times describes the operation as a Ponzi scheme linked to the 1040 Sunshine Project.

A Ponzi scheme typically uses money from newer participants to pay earlier ones, while a pyramid scheme relies primarily on recruiting new participants to generate returns.

Other Singaporeans interviewed by the newspaper described similar recruitment trips dating back to 2014, with promises that Nanning would become the “next Shenzhen” and that developments there would attract major tourism and investment.

The scheme has also ensnared people from Malaysia, Indonesia, Taiwan and China, according to the report.

The accounts emerged after Singapore authorities announced on Thursday that 52 Singaporeans had been detained in Guangxi over suspected involvement in pyramid scheme activities.

Singapore’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has urged citizens to exercise caution over schemes involving recruitment, large upfront payments or promises of unusually high returns.