Indus Viva scam: ED attaches assets worth Rs. 66.30 cr

Hyderabad: Enforcement Directorate has provisionally attached assets worth Rs. 66.30 crore of IndusViva Health Sciences Private Limited, its chairman C.A Anzar and others under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) 2002 in a Rs. 1,500 crore multi-level marketing scam.

ED initiated a money laundering investigation on the basis of an FIR registered by the Gachibowli police, Cyberabad. The company was running a multi-level marketing scam and working under the guise of direct selling business. It had engaged a large number of distributors and had done rigorous marketing about the company's commission schemes. It had promised people a great opportunity to make quick and easy money by becoming a member and then in turn making further enrollments under one's downline on the right side and left side in a binary manner.

In order to project its fraud pyramid scheme as a legitimate business, the company had introduced some products that were by its own admission valued at only 20% of the sale revenue and in reality, were completely worthless. The membership fees paid by new clients were used to pay commission to old clients. By giving false promises and inducements, the company had enrolled around 10 lakh members and collected around Rs. 1,500 crore since its inception.

During the investigation, it was noticed that C.A Anzar, the chairman of IndusViva, and Abhilash Thomas, the CEO, had diverted funds to a subsidiary company and their other related companies and to their personal accounts. These funds were utilized to acquire immovable assets which are identified to the tune of Rs. 50.47 crore in the name of the companies and individuals.

Further, movable properties were also identified in the form of bank balances to the tune of Rs. 15.83 crore lying in 20 bank accounts of IndusViva, its chairman, and related companies. All these properties have been provisionally attached by ED.

Earlier, Anzar and Abhilash Thomas were arrested by ED on 15 December 2021.

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on 15 December 2021 arrested CA Anzar and Abhilash Thomas, the co-founders and owners of the Bengaluru-based firm Indus Viva, in a Rs. 1,500 crore multi-level marketing scam. At present, they are in judicial custody.