Hyderabad: Full recovery of money lost in multi-level marketing cases is almost impossible. Once an accused gets bail, which is easy in white collar offences, police cannot recover cash from them. Even if properties of the suspects are attached, the value would be so less that victims cannot be compensated. In the Qnet case, police could not even get five per cent of the money lost despite attaching properties of four suspects, who were earlier arrested in Hyderabad.
In most case, the scammers disappear once they get bail. Even if they are tracked down by cops, given their firms do not maintain proper records of financial transactions, it is not easy for the police to find the victims’ money. Police try initiating recovery proceedings by attaching the bank accounts and properties of the main suspects, but that is usually insufficient. Besides, there is always uncertainty about the locations of the properties and assets, their value and disputes over assets.
“In this Q Net case, we had arrested the main agents from Hyderabad, who initiated this scheme in Hyderabad. They knew it was a shady scheme. We have attached their property, but given their value we may not be able to give back even a few thousands to each victim,” said CCS DCP, Avinash Mohanty.
The delay in getting back their money is one reason for victims losing interest in the case and refusing to be witnesses in court. “When it takes years and years for the trial to get over, victims see less possibilities of getting their money back. They lose interest and do not cooperate with the police, resulting in a low conviction rates,” said Mohanty.
