Hyderabad EOW Arrests Five QNET Representatives in Pyramid Fraud Case
The arrests were made on July 18, according to information made available on Thursday.
Hyderabad:The Hyderabad economic offences wing (EOW) police arrested five independent representatives of QNET at Goa in connection with an alleged multi-lakh pyramid and money-circulation fraud. The arrests were made on July 18, according to information made available on Thursday.
Based on a complaint by Sardar Sharanpal Singh of the city, the EOW Team-I of the CCS, detective department, had registered cases against the officials under the BNS, Telangana Protection of Depositors of Financial Establishments (TSPDFE) Act, Prize Chits and Money Circulation Schemes (Banning) Act, 1978, and Information Technology Act.
The arrested accused were Mohammed Fawaz of Kozhikode; Aswin Suresh of Palakkad; Vinu Johnson D'Cruz; Manoj Ravindran Nair Subbalakshmi; and Varikottuchalil Sivarajan Balraj, all natives of Kerala.
The complainant had alleged that Fawaz contacted him through Instagram while he was searching for gym space in Hyderabad and Bengaluru. The accused lured him to Bengaluru on July 9 by promising a lucrative business opportunity linked to QNET and Vihaan Direct Selling India Pvt. Ltd.
Using fabricated success stories, presentations and recruitment tactics, they allegedly induced him to invest `7.50 lakh and pressured him to immediately transfer `30,000 as a booking amount through UPI to Fawaz's bank account for entry into a leadership event in Goa. After consulting his wife and a friend, the complainant verified reports linking QNET to alleged pyramid schemes and approached police.
During the investigation, the EOW received information that several QNET representatives would attend the company's 25th anniversary event at Candolim, North Goa. A special police team rushed to Goa and apprehended the five accused. They were produced before the Judicial Magistrate First Class, Mapusa, who granted transit warrants for their transfer to Hyderabad.
A statement said the probe was being carried out under the guidance of ACPs (SIT) Y. Harish Kumar and V. Narasimha Reddy under the supervision of DCP, CCS, DD, S. Chaitanya Kumar.
Police said Fawaz recruited the complainant and received `25,000 into his account, Suresh used fabricated income claims, Vinu explained the binary recruitment model and identified absconding accused, while Subbalakshmi and Balraj acted as upline members and allegedly recruited more than 15 and 10 persons respectively through meetings, Zoom sessions and social media.
In the investigation being carried out by inspectors Raghavender and Sudhakar Rao, police seized three vehicles besides five mobile phones containing WhatsApp chats, Instagram communications, emails and financial transaction records. Efforts are underway to trace the remaining absconding accused.