Beware of online investments, SpeakAsia under scanning

MUMBAI: Investors alleged fraud on the Singapore-registered company SpeakAsia of about Rs 8,000 crore.

Navneet Khosla one of the investors had registered a complaint against the company with the Mumbai police. He has accused SpeakAsia of cheating him of Rs 2.4 lakh.

Investigators did not comment on this high figure saying they are still examining the firm’s accounts, investors say that many of them have put in lakhs of money into SpeakAsia.

According to sources, the company has ‘recruited’ 20 lakh investors across the country, but its website pegs the number at 19 lakh. Even Andheri resident Rajmani Shukla claimed the alleged fraud could touch Rs 10,000 crore in his PIL at the Bombay High Court. On Friday, the Mumbai police had pegged the fraud at Rs 1,320 crore.

On Saturady the Economics Offences Wing (EOW) of the Mumbai police, investigating the firm, arrested a fifth person, Deepankar Sarkar-an active promoter-at Raipur. He has been remanded to police custody till August 4. “Sarkar was one of the company’s first promoters and as of January 2011 had earned Rs 35 lakh through returns.

When SpeakAsia introduced its scheme in February 2010, there were just 100 panellists,” said Khosla. Acting on Kholsa’s complaint and its own investigations, EOW on Friday, had arrested four senior executives of the firm in Indore including the COO Tarak Bajpai. SpeakAsia has also been accused of transferring Rs 700 crore to Singapore.

On May 11, SpeakAsia had allegedly charged 1,200 ‘panellists’ Rs 1 lakh to participate in a shopping festival. According to investors, the promoters had promised them “heavy discounts” on their purchases. Around the same time, the company came under the radar of the CID, I-T department and Enforcement Directorate, and its accounts were blocked.

SpeakAsia has no office in India, and functions through web. Investors enroll on its portal to become panellists for Rs 11,000, after which they get to fill two survey forms a week and earn Rs 1,000. It functions on a ‘point-based’ system, and panellists-as investors are called-are entitled to 10 points (Rs 500) for every survey. Investors are urged to recruit people and are awarded points equivalent to Rs 1,000 for every new member.

Police said the firm told investors that they could cash in their points, but when many tried to do so, it did not happen.
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