Hyderabad, March 23 – The Hyderabad Police arrested 32 individuals on Monday during simultaneous raids in Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, and Karnataka in four cases related to the Q-Net/Vihaan direct selling multi-level marketing scam.
Hyderabad Police Commissioner V. C. Sajjanar stated at a press conference on Monday that the arrests were made by 30 special teams from the Central Crime Station (CCS) of the Hyderabad City Police.
The Hyderabad City Police conducted simultaneous, rapid raids in various parts of Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, and Bengaluru, Karnataka.
He said that 32 individuals, including 11 women, were arrested who are playing different roles in the recruitment and training of promoters in this fraudulent MLM scheme/business.
Most of these accused are IT employees, including some former IT employees.
According to him, this is a case of large-scale fraud amounting to thousands of crores throughout the country, along with the promotion of an illegal money circulation scheme by Vihaan Direct Selling Pvt Ltd, a self-styled franchisee of QI Group in India under the brand name Q Net.
Four cases have been registered against Vihaan Direct Selling Pvt Ltd (Q Net) at the CCS, Detective Department, Hyderabad.
Vihaan Direct Selling Pvt Ltd, formerly known as Gold Quest, Quest Net, is a Hong Kong-based multi-level marketing (MLM) company owned by the QI Group.
The company targets software employees, businessmen, housewives, and individuals seeking part-time employment.
According to police, this group is targeting software employees and unemployed youth under the guise of part-time employment and attracting people by offering high-return investment opportunities under the name of E-Commerce business. The selected individuals were taken to hotels in Hitech City, where they were informed about the investment plan without revealing the name of the company, and were told that they would receive 3 to 4 crore rupees within two years for an investment of 5 to 10 lakh rupees. Initially, they do not reveal the name of Q-net Company, MLM, or binary method.
In some cases, when a person receives products at their home, they are misled into believing that it is a gift from the company to continue in the scheme, and thus, they divert the investment amount to purchase products in the MLM scheme without their consent and knowledge, Sajjanar explained.
The company uses various Ponzi schemes and Binary Schemes, along with product-based and vacation package business tactics, which are illegal, the Commissioner said.
The police have so far examined 11 victims in the four cases. They have lost nearly Rs 75 lakh. Many more victims are yet to be examined.
Efforts are being made to apprehend the absconding accused involved in this fraudulent network, the Commissioner added.
