Ferreira, three others arrested in Qnet scam

Former world billiards champion Michael Ferreira and three others accused in the multi-level marketing company QNet scam were arrested by the Central Crime Station police on Wednesday.

The suspects, who’d earlier surrendered in Mumbai, were brought to Hyderabad on a transit warrant. The CCS police had submitted a petition seeking their custody to investigate the case registered in Hyderabad.

Ferreira is a director of Vihaan Direct Selling Pvt Ltd, the master franchise of QNet in India. More than 100 youngsters from Telangana were cheated in the QNet scam last year.

According to Central Crime Station DCP Avinash Mohanty, on October 13 last year, a complainant, Suman Ghosh, assistant manager at a private bank here, lodged a complaint stating that he had paid Rs 16 lakh via DD to Vihaan Direct Selling India Pvt Ltd, on the promise of a business partnership in QNet schemes. The company did not give him any business even several weeks after collecting the money.

“Based on the complaint, the police had booked a case under relevant IPC sections, besides relevant sections of the Prize, Chits and Money Circulation Schemes (Banning) Act against the management of Vihaan Direct Selling,” said Mr Mohanty.

“We received information from the Economic Offences Wing of the Mumbai police that the four accused, including Michael Ferreira, who are directors of Vihaan Direct Selling India Pvt Ltd, were arrested and remanded to judicial custody. We then filed an application in a Mumbai court seeking their custody in connection with the case registered by us,” he added.