The Hyderabad Police have arrested five people in connection with an alleged investment scam in the name of QNET from a resort in Goa. The arrests were made on a complaint regarding a multi-lakh cheating case. Police also took three luxury cars and electronic devices which are expected to help the investigation.

Hyderabad Police said the five accused were arrested at an event held at a resort in Candolim, North Goa where they were all from Kerala. The operation was conducted after a complaint was received from a man who said he had been tricked into investing money because he was told he would be able to run a profitable business, officials said.

The complainant said that he had been looking for a gym in Hyderabad and Bengaluru when he got a message from one of the accused on a social media platform. He was reportedly called to Bengaluru on July 9 ostensibly to discuss a business proposal.

At the meeting, the complainant was introduced to QNET or Vihaan Direct Selling India Pvt. Ltd. which was described as a business engaged in luxury products related to the QI Group. The complainant says the accused had presented himself as a “successful” entrepreneur with presentations and testimonials that promised him big money from the venture.

The complainant was allegedly asked to invest ₹7.5 lakh and also to transfer an immediate booking amount of ₹30,000 to get his name in the business and for the complainant to attend a leadership event in Goa. Trusting the claims made by the recruiters, he transferred the amount to one of the accused.

The complaint also stated that the recruiters would prefer to contact him on the phone and online, rather than in writing, and told him not to talk to anyone about the business model.

Once the case was registered, investigators collected data that would indicate that several individuals associated with QNET and Vihaan Direct Selling India Pvt. Ltd. were going to attend an event in Goa. On the basis of this information, a special police team went to Candolim and arrested the five accused on 18th July.

The accused were produced before the Judicial Magistrate First Class, Mapusa, Goa after their arrest. The court issued a transit warrant and Hyderabad Police was allowed to take them to the city for further investigation.

Police said they are still working to determine the whereabouts of other suspects linked to the alleged operation.

Hyderabad Police issued a public advisory to the people asking them to be careful of money circulation and pyramid or multi-level marketing (MLM) schemes offering unusually high returns and passive income. The police said that the victims of such scams are generally IT professionals, jobless youth, students and housewives.

Officials also said that people who promote, organise events for, recruit members into or raise funds for such schemes could be taken to court under the Prize Chits and Money Circulation Schemes (Banning) Act, 1978.

The Indian arm of the Hong Kong-based QNET, Vihaan Direct Selling Pvt. Ltd., formerly Gold Quest and Quest Net, has been registered for cases previously, police said.

The investigation is continuing and authorities are continuing to look at the alleged investment network and work to find other individuals that may have been involved.