Mumbai, 15 January, 2017 (GPN) : Hon Justice Sadhana Jadhav hearing Michael Ferreira’s bail plea in the QNET case raised the question of whether his custody was required further. Though the matter was adjourned for hearing at a future date, the very basis of a custody which is investigations, were cited to be completed and the chargesheet filed thereby questioning the purpose of any further custody.
80-year old Michael Ferreira along with three others has been in custody since 30 September, 2016 when they had surrendered following the Supreme Court’s rejection of his anticipatory bail plea in the case filed against him alleging cheating and fraud by a person claiming to have bought products from the company.
According to the charge sheet filed by the EOW Mumbai, Gurpreet Singh Anand had filed a complaint against two Independent Representatives of QNet for selling a fraudulent product to his wife Mrs Parmeet Kaur, which they claimed would help cure their son’s brain ailment.
QNet and its sub-franchisee Vihaan Direct Selling India Pvt Ltd have however refuted this claim. The company claims to have submitted documents to show that Mrs Parmeet Kaur never purchased the product as alleged in the charge sheet. In fact, she had reportedly placed an order for an online education product from the QNet India company portal and subsequently cancelled this order. No financial transaction ever took place between Parmeet Kaur and QNet or Vihaan Direct Selling Pvt Ltd claims the company.
Investigations in the case have been going on since August 2013 and currently two shareholders of Vihaan Direct Selling (India) Pvt Ltd and two ex-directors are in judicial custody in Mumbai. All arrested have been fully co-operating with the authorities ever since their arrest awaiting the regular bail process.
The filling of the chargesheet means the completion of the investigations making the probability of a bail being granted to the four accused stronger now. The company has reiterated its complete faith in the judiciary and has been abiding by its due process and will continue to do so in future too.
QNet claims it is a legitimate direct selling company and all its products are sold through the company’s eCommerce platform. Those who enrol as independent representatives have the opportunity to earn commissions from product sales and no other compensation whether in the form or nature of interest or gains on investment is ever paid out.
The company has been doing well in the Indian market and expects a steady growth of approximately 20% over the next year in its turnover. its India Independent Representative base is expected to see a healthy increase over the next two years of about 45% over the current base, said a company spokesperson.
It has also drawn up some very ambitious investment plans for the Indian market wherein it is looking at setting up a manufacturing base over the next 5 years once the air is cleared about the legality of the business and the industry, said the spokesman. It has earmarked Rs 200-300 crore over the next 5-6 years as outlay in the Indian market he added.
