On Wednesday, October 26, 2022, a network of crooks was dismantled by the Kongo-Central security services. They were accused of taking 10 US dollars from around 1,000 merchants working in the informal sector in Matadi (Kongo-Central). These defendants worked in an alleged microfinance structure called “M-Dukas”.

The microfinance company M-Dukas has begun collecting $10 from more than 800 small retailers to take out a $450 credit per person. This amount is repayable for one year. Based on the latest explanations provided by the people who placed their bet, the credit will be granted per group and not per individual. Local officials are suspected of being scammers, which is why customers have asked for refunds. For example, urban security services are unaware of the existence of this microfinance structure in the city of Matadi; what prompted the police, during a training session organized in the Nsona room, to apprehend the three alleged M-Dukas employees. This was in order to calm the overheated minds of these small merchants. The police and the urban authority escorted them to the bank to collect the money and reimburse all the complainants immediately. However, the M-Duka structure bank account only had a balance of 1,700 dollars. The crooks spent their first night in Matadi prison on Thursday 27 October.