A photograph of ₹1,500 crore valued money circulation firm Indus Viva’s CEO Abhilash Thomas receiving an award from Karnataka’s former Chief Minister Siddaramaiah was used as a ‘bait’ to attract investors.
The company also publicised the arrested Abhilash’s photographs with Kerala’s Finance Minister Thomas Isaac and billionaire businessman Mukesh Ambani and other celebrities in the country to lure gullible people to invest in their MLM business.
The Economic Offences Wing of the Cyberabad Commissionerate on Saturday arrested Abhilash and 23 others closely associated with the business for duping people, while organising a business meet at a star hotel in the IT corridor. Abhilash lived a lavish life and owned a villa in Bengaluru. He had several luxury cars. Before floating this business in 2014, he was associated with Michigan based multi-level marketing company Amway.
Commissioner of Police V.C. Sajjanar said that Abhilash’s photos with Mr. Siddaramaiah, Mr. Issac and others were published in the company’s booklets and pamphlet to promote their ‘illegal’ business and attract more and more investors. “They have used his photos with well-known people in the country as a bait. He must have taken photos with them on various occasions, but that doesn’t mean they are known to each other,” the officer said.
The company claimed that they also operate in USA, Rwanda and Bangladesh. He said that the firm mostly targeted women, especially homemakers and unemployed youth.
According to a senior police officer associated with the investigation of the case, the firm organised summits at stars hotels across the country, and also provided training sessions on how to join more members in their scheme.
A man who referred more than 10,000 people will get a Mercedes Benz car, a week-long family trip to the US and a video documentary on their successful journey.
“While organising the summit, they used to park expensive cars in the lobby to create hype about their business, and give fake speeches to lure and ‘boost the morale’ of the members or new joiners,” the officer said, adding that company also held virtual meetings.
According to their binary business plan, at 11 level ,136 crore Indians will become part of their business, while at 12th and 13th stages, the entire population in Asia and world will become their members, respectively, police said.
