The Enforcement Directorate on Monday attached assets worth ₹757.77 crore belonging to FMCG Amway India in money laundering case. According to the probe agency, the firm is accused of running a multi-level marketing scam. The attached properties include land and factory building of Amway at Tamil Nadu's Dindigul district, plant and machineries, vehicles, bank accounts and fixed deposits, the ED statement said. Earlier, the central probe agency had provisionally attached immovable & movable properties worth ₹411.83 Crore and bank balances of ₹345.94 Crore from 36 different accounts belonging to Amway.
In its probe, the ED alleged that Amway was running a pyramid fraud in the guise of direct selling multi-level marketing network. It is observed that the prices of most of the products offered by the company are exorbitant as compared to the alternative popular products of reputed manufacturers available in the open market. “Without knowing the real facts, the common gullible public is induced to join as members of the company and purchase products at exorbitant prices and are thus losing their hard earned money. The new members are not buying the products to use them, but to become rich by becoming members as showcased by the upline members. Reality is that the commissions received by the upline members contribute enormously in hike of prices of the products,” the probe agency statement read.The investigating agency said that the company collected an amount of Rs 27,562 crore from its business operations from 2002-03 to 2021-22 and out of the above, the company has paid a commission of Rs 7,588 crore to its distributors and members in India and in the USA during FY 2002-03 to 2020-21.Amway has brought Rs 21.39 crore as share capital in India in 1996-97 and till FY 2020-21, the company has remitted huge amount of Rs 2,859.10 crore in the name of dividend, royalty and other payments to their investors and parent entities.