Thousands of people have faced losses following the shutdown of the GEMCUE or GMCE pyramid scheme in the Maldives.

Those who were active in promoting the scheme on Telegram channels announced that they "have lost hope" and urged participants to join a new scheme.

More than 50,000 people, including MPs, police and military officers, had invested in the scheme when it stopped over the weekend.

Before its shutdown, GEMCUE operators shared a fake letter from the US Department of Treasury, which said their accounts were on hold.

Since then, investors have not been able to withdraw money.

On Saturday, an active member of the platform posted that they were not getting any response from GEMCUE.

After that, the member promoted another scheme named "Quant Pan" and urged participants to invest and earn profit.

These messages are posted on Telegram groups by members with fake identities.

Two days ago, Police Head of Anti-Scam Centre Adam Naveed told Adhadhu that seven Maldivians have so far been identified as promoting GEMCUE.

He said they joined at the start of the scheme and became senior members. They will be questioned in the coming days, he said, adding that the police had no intention of taking harsh action against those involved in the scheme.

Three different sources, including the government and security services, confirmed that more than 50,000 Maldivians had invested in the scheme.

More than 25,000 people were contributing to the scheme when it came to the attention of the authorities.

Investors include police, military officials, MPs, civil servants and other individuals from the public sector, according to various sources.

In addition, an MP from the ruling party is the team leader of the scheme, recruiting new investors. The MP did not deny his involvement.

Police earlier stated that work done in collaboration with foreign investigative agencies has so far revealed that the GEMCUE operators were defrauding investors.