The Hyderabad city police have busted a massive multi-level marketing (MLM) and illegal money circulation racket linked to QNet, arresting 32 persons across Telangana, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka in a coordinated inter-state operation.
The crackdown was carried out by the special investigation team (SIT) of the central crime station (CCS), which formed around 30 teams to conduct simultaneous raids in multiple locations. The accused were allegedly operating under Vihaan Direct Selling Pvt Ltd, a franchise of the QI Group.
Confirming the action in a post on X, Hyderabad police commissioner VC Sajjanar says the SIT had dismantled a 'multi-crore illegal money circulation scheme' that targeted IT professionals and youth with false promises of high returns. He cautioned the public against falling for such 'get-rich-quick' schemes and stressed that both promoting and joining such operations is a punishable offence under the Prize Chits and Money Circulation Schemes (Banning) Act, 1978.
Police say the racket lured victims, including software employees, unemployed youth, businessmen and homemakers, by offering part-time income opportunities and lucrative returns through purported e-commerce and investment plans. Victims were invited to meetings at hotels in Hyderabad’s IT hub and persuaded to invest between ₹5 lakh and ₹10 lakh, with promises of earning up to ₹3 crore to ₹4 crore within two years.
Investigators say the accused initially concealed the true nature of the scheme and its association with QNet. Victims were allegedly misled into purchasing products under the guise of receiving gifts, while their funds were diverted into the MLM structure without their full knowledge.
The operation followed a binary enrolment model, where each participant was required to recruit two new members, creating an expanding chain. Commissions were paid based on recruitment rather than genuine product sales which, police said, qualifies as an illegal money circulation scheme.
Among those arrested are several key organisers, including Rohith Kumar and Sandeep Reddy, along with 11 women. Notably, many of the accused are current or former IT professionals who were involved in recruiting and training new members.
So far, investigators have identified at least 11 victims who reported losses of around ₹75 lakh, though officials suspect the scale of the fraud could run into thousands of crores nationwide, with many victims yet to come forward.
Commissioner Sajjanar says the company had operated under different names over the years, including GoldQuest and QuestNet, before rebranding as QNet, and has been promoting pyramid and MLM schemes across countries for over two decades.
The case is linked to four first information reports (FIRs) registered by the CCS, detective department, Hyderabad, and further investigation is underway to trace additional victims and apprehend the absconding accused.
Police have reiterated their advisory urging citizens to remain cautious and avoid enrolling in schemes that promise unrealistic returns, warning that participation in such models can attract legal action.
In January 2023, the directorate of enforcement (ED) froze 36 bank accounts relating to various companies, individuals and proprietorships connected with Vihaan Direct Selling. ED says it conducted searches at multiple locations in Mumbai, Bengaluru and Chennai in relation to the money laundering case of Vihaan Direct Selling and froze a total of 36 bank accounts with amounts involving more than ₹90 crore. (Read:
QNet: ED Freezes 36 Bank Accounts Connected to Vihaan Direct Selling in a Money Laundering Case)
In 2014, ED had registered a case in the ₹425 crore QNet scam for money laundering. ED named QNet Ltd from Hong Kong, its official franchisee Vihaan Direct Selling, Vijay Eswaran, the founder of QI group and three other independent representatives (IRs) of QNet from Mumbai.
In August 2019, the ministry of corporate affairs (MCA) and the department of consumer affairs under the ministry of consumer affairs, food & public distribution initiated the filing of a winding-up petition against Vihaan Direct Selling, a franchise of controversial MLM operator QNet.
Earlier, on 6 May 2016, justice Mridula Bhatkar of the Bombay High Court, while rejecting the anticipatory bail applications of five accused in the multi-crore QNet scam, had observed that "the deceit and fraud is camouflaged under the name of e-marketing and business". The HC rejected the bail applications of five, including Srinivas Rao Vanka and Magaral Veervalli Balaji, both directors of Vihaan Direct Selling (India) Pvt Ltd, Suresh Thimiri, director of Transview Enterprises India Pvt Ltd, Malcolm Nozer Desai, who is a 20% stakeholder in Vihaan and Michael Joseph Ferreira, former world champion of billiards and an 80% stakeholder in Vihaan. (Read:
QNet: "It is a chain where a person is fooled and then he is trained to fool others to earn money" says Bombay HC order)
As reported by Moneylife, QuestNet and GoldQuest (previous avatars of QNet), the MLM companies that had shut shop in 2009 following police action, are back with a bigger bang. They now call themselves QNet and are thriving in an environment where tens of thousands of Ponzi and MLM companies are able to lure people into believing that they have the formula for instant riches and a high-growth career.
QNet operates in India through its official franchisee, Vihaan Direct Selling, which carries the company's brand name in the country. However, Suresh Thimiri, who is often touted as QNet India's chief executive and had denied any relationship with QNet or any of its representatives, owns the 'QNet' trademark in India through his company Transview Enterprises Pvt Ltd!
