Nine men have appeared in a Spanish court accused of defrauding investors of hundreds of millions of euros by lying to them about the value of their investments in postage stamps.
The men were linked to Afinsa and Forum Filatelico, two privately owned companies at the centre of what could be the biggest fraud scandal in Spanish history.
At least 350,000 people invested their savings into the companies, which said they used the cash and their expertise in the global collectibles market to buy rare postage stamps.
Spain's public prosecutor said the firms operated "a pyramid type business, without any economic logic and destined for failure". Afinsa and Forum Filatelico deny the charges and have assured their investors they can meet their commitments, but the case has left thousands of Spaniards wondering if they are going to get their money back.
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