With network marketing giant Amway India’s chairman and managing director and CEO William S Pinckney and two company directors, Sanjay Malhotra and Anshu Budhraja, being arrested and remanded in judicial custody in Kerala on the charges of financial irregularities, the Crime Investigation Department (CID) of AP on Tuesday cautioned public against involving in the activities of Amway India Enterprises Pvt. Ltd., or any of its kind terming the business illegal.
William S Pinckney has already been named as an accused in a cheating case registered by the CID in 2006. The government had banned advertisement of Amway products through G.O.Ms.No.178 in 2008.
Amway India Enterprises has been facing criminal trial in the state since 2008. Its CMD is an accused in the CID case against Amway under IPC section 420 and Sec. 2 (C) read with 3, 4, 5 & 6 of Prize Chits and Money Circulation Schemes (Banning) Act, 1978. He is also attending the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Court, Nampally, Hyderabad in the trial against Amway. There are many other cases against the firm in the state.
The High Court and the Supreme Court have upheld the GO Ms.No.178, said a release from CID. The company has been promoting Amway products through money circulation by conducting membership drives. The public are lured with incentives and commissions and cheated, police said.
Amway got approval from the Foreign Investment Promotion Board to develop direct selling business in 1994. Instead of starting the business, Amway started an organisation called Indian Direct Selling Association (IDSA) in 1995. In 1996, Amway floated Amway Opportunity Foundation (AOF), a charity institution through which it drew the attention of people. It conducted seminars with NRIs and enrolled Indian members under the downline of NRI members. In 1998, Amway started its actual business operations after enrolling a sizable number of members into its scheme, police added.
