Green Ray International Limited (GRIL) had been offering commission to the agents at inflated rate and high monthly interest (read dividend) to the investors.
Sources said an agent was getting at least Rs 17,000 against a deposit of `one lakh, while the depositor was assured to be provided Rs 2,500 a month. In fact, the commission and interest rates were different for different plans. No academic qualification was required to be an agent of the company.
Even as the company officials claimed that theirs was never a financial company and the relationship between the depositors and them was ‘customer-trader’, GRIL’s website reads that the company was doing business under various ‘investment’ plans such as Real Gold Plan, Ever Green Plan, Green Line Plan, Marriage Plan, Tycoon Plan, Happy Nation Plan.
Under these plans, the company had been offering “unbelievable” interest rates. What seems interesting is that though the depositors (as per GRIL customers) were purchasing gold or silver coins from the company, they were not allowed to take them home, barring for a few months period during its initial days only to establish its credibility.
The depositors were allegedly persuaded by the agents and company officials to return the coins to them and take 2.5 per cent monthly dividend till the specific period. The depositors were not given the liberty to verify the authenticity of the metal, claimed as 24 carat gold and fine silver coins.
If someone asks for it, the officials would fix a condition saying that the company would pay double the amount if the metal comes out as fake and if it clears the test, the party will have to pay double the amount. All the coins were branded as GRM.
Sources said through its Real Gold Plan, the depositor was offered higher rate - 14 pc after 25 months, 20 pc after 37 months and 28 pc after 49 months while under Ever Green Plan, the offer was 12 pc, 18 pc, 28 pc and 38 pc for 12, 24, 36 and 48 months respectively.
A depositor opting for Green Line Plan was being offered 14 pc, 30 pc, 50 pc and 70 pc for 13, 25, 37 and 49 months respectively. Its Marriage Plan offers 60 pc after six years. Similarly, Tycoon Plan offered 14 pc extra price and actual remaining amount after first year and fifth year respectively. Then the seller had an option to sale gold/silver coins to the company on credit for one year and from the beginning of each year, that is from second to sixth year, he would get 25 pc, 35 pc, 45 pc, 60 pc and 93.786 pc respectively.
The most lucrative was Happy Nation Plan under which the depositors were assured 50 pc, 15 pc and 20 pc of market price after one year, two years and five years respectively and remaining amount to be paid in 12 equal monthly instalments.
GRIL, having its tag line ‘sweet and simple,’ had been campaigning that the company was committed towards improving financial status and lifestyle of people attached to their company, be it customers or agents.
The company had six stages for its field worker adviser, coordinator, Star-1, Star-2, Star-3 and Green Star along with one year to jump from one stage to other and special ‘Promotion Quota’ for the promoters.
A Star-2 agent, if promoted to Star-1 or completed `10 crore promotion quota, was declared as Star-3, which will get him `62,500 monthly as allowance. A Star-3 was entitled to become Green Star and get `30 lakh, besides a fantastic car as gift to those who reached Star-2 or completed `100 crore of promotion quota. If a green star wants to work as a ‘Green Ray Ambassador’, the company was offering `49,000 as monthly salary. All this was from the depositors’ money.