§ Mr. MacShaneTo ask the President of the Board of Trade what steps he has taken to prevent(a) British citizens, (b) British firms and (c) British-sponsored firms or consultancies from becoming involved in Albanian pyramid selling. [16412]
Mr. John M. TaylorThe Government cannot prevent people making unwise decisions in other countries. However, the Government have acted vigorously to inform people of the risks of money circulation schemes and to prevent such schemes gaining hold in the United Kingdom. In the past three years, we have successfully applied to the court to wind up over 20 companies where this appears justified in the public interest. We have supported the enactment of the Trading Schemes Act 1996 which brings money circulation schemes within the controls of the Fair Trading Act 1973. We have also made related regulations requiring basic good trading practice in the running of trading schemes.