The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on April 18th attached assets worth Rs. 757.77 crore belonging to direct-selling consumer goods company, Amway India Enterprises Pvt. Ltd., under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
The agency said in a statement that the attached properties include land and factory buildings in Dindigul district in Tamil Nadu, plant and machinery, vehicles, bank accounts, and fixed deposits. Out of the total Rs. 757.77 crore of assets attached, immovable and movable properties are worth Rs. 411.83 crore, and the remaining are bank balances of Rs. 345.94 crore from 36 accounts belonging to Amway.
The ED accused the company of running a multi-level marketing scam where prices of most of the products were exorbitant as compared to the alternative popular products of reputed manufacturers available in the open market.
ED stated, “Without knowing the real facts, the common gullible public is induced to join as members of the company and purchase products at exorbitant prices, thus losing their hard-earned money. The new members are not buying the products to use them, but to become rich by becoming members, as showcased by the upline members. The reality is that the commissions received by the upline members contribute enormously to the hike in prices of the products. ”
“The entire focus of the company is about propagating how members can become rich by becoming members.” There is no focus on the products. The products are used to trick this MLM Pyramid fraud as a direct selling company,” the agency further added.
The government banned direct-selling companies from promoting pyramid schemes in December. The Consumer Protection (Direct Selling) Rules, 2021 were aimed at protecting consumers’ rights and restricting companies that are involved in direct selling from encouraging money circulation schemes.
