Albanian pyramid scheme boss arrested

The Albanian authorities have arrested the head of the biggest of the pyramid schemes responsible for the months of turmoil that gripped Albania last year.

The prosecutor's office in the capital Tirana said the man, Vehbi Alimucaj, and seven of his associates had been charged with illegally transferring one-hundred-and-forty million dollars of investors' money to accounts outside Albania.

Alimucaj and three of his associates were taken to a high-security prison.

A special commission is to decide today how to distribute the residue of the money from the pyramid schemes to their investors.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service