Hyderabad: Three held in separate incidents for MLM fraud

As part of the investigation, five accounts belonging to the suspects and individuals, containing Rs.6.5 crore were frozen

Hyderabad: The Hyderabad Central Crime Station police nabbed three persons on charges of cheating people in the guise of Multi-level Marketing (MLM) schemes, in separate incidents here on Tuesday.

The arrested persons are G.Rajesh Khanna from Bengaluru, Maneesh from Himayathnagar and Syed Ajmal Mehdi Sajjad from Malakpet, who were found to be associated with two different companies including QNET (Vihaan Direct Selling India Pvt. Ltd), engaged in deceptive investment schemes.

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Police said initially three cases were booked by the Mahankali police, which were subsequently transferred to the Central Crime Station for further investigation. Accordingly, cases were booked against 12 persons who established a bogus company named V-Empire at Swapnalok Complex in Secunderabad and collected money from unemployed youth and general public, promising high returns.

The prime suspect in the first case, Rajesh Khanna, in collusion with others, conducted motivation classes and lured people in the name of e-commerce business with the promise of monthly returns ranging between Rs.20,000 to Rs.60,000, based on investments ranging from Rs.50,000 to Rs.1.5 lakh.

“They operated a pyramid scheme disguised as a direct selling business, which is strictly prohibited by the government’s direct selling guidelines issued in 2017. During the investigation, 150 victims were examined, and their collective loss amounts to Rs.3 crore,” said CV Anand, Police Commissioner, Hyderabad. Additionally, 35 bank accounts belonging to Vihaan Direct Selling Pvt. Ltd. and others, containing Rs.54 crore, have been frozen, he added.

In a separate case, Maneesh Katti and Syed Ajmal Mehdi Sajjad, who worked as marketing in-charges for the company and promoted two fraudulent schemes, was arrested.

“These fraudulent schemes have attracted 44 individuals from Andhra Pradesh and Telangana to invest Rs.25 lakhs rupees each in the super market business. Tragically, over 300 individuals have collectively lost crores of rupees by investing in the individual distributor scheme,” the Commissioner said.

As part of the investigation, five accounts belonging to the suspects and individuals, containing Rs.6.5 crore were frozen.