New Delhi: The Enforcement Directorate on Monday said that it has provisionally attached assets worth Rs 757.77 crore belonging to Amway India Enterprises Pvt Ltd. The investigating agency said that the attached properties include land and factory building of Amway at Dindigul District, Tamil Nadu, plant and machineries, vehicles, bank accounts and fixed deposits.
ED had provisionally attached immovable and movable properties worth Rs 411.83 crore and bank balances of Rs 345.94 crore from 36 different accounts belonging to Amway.
The agency said that a money-laundering investigation by them revealed that Amway is running a pyramid fraud in the guise of direct selling multi-level marketing network.
“It is observed that the prices of most of the products offered by the company are exorbitant as compared to the alternative popular products of reputed manufacturers available in the open market,” the ED said.
The investigating agency claimed that the company collected an amount of Rs 27,562 crore from its business operations from 2002-03 to 2021-22 and out of the above, the company has paid a commission of Rs 7,588 crore to its distributors and members in India and in the USA during FY 2002-03 to 2020-21.
“Without knowing the real facts, the common gullible public is induced to join as members of the company and purchase products at exorbitant prices and are 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. Reality is that the commissions received by the upline members contribute enormously in hike of prices of the products,” ED said.
It was stated that the company’s whole focus is on propagating how members can get wealthy by becoming members. The emphasis is not on the products. This MLM Pyramid scheme is disguised as a direct selling organisation by using products.
Amway invested Rs 21.39 crore in India in 1996-97, and since then, the company has paid out a total of Rs 2,859.10 crore in dividends, royalties, and other payments to its shareholders and parent companies.
“M/s. Britt Worldwide India Private Limited and M/s. Network Twenty One Private Limited also played a major role in promoting pyramid scheme of Amway by conducting seminars for joining members under the guise of sale of goods by enrollment of members in chain system. The promoters are conducting mega conventions and flaunted their lavish lifestyle and used social media to lure gullible investors,” the agency said.
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