Notices to football league officials over Qnet money

MUMBAI: The economic offences wing of Mumbai police, probing the multicrore Qnet scam, has issued notices to Indian Super League (ISL) officials to gather details about taking sponsorship from the tainted company.

Qnet had made celebratory association as the official direct selling partner of Goa Football Club (FC Goa) throughout the Indian Super League 2015 season, from October to December. FC Goa is a part of the ISL football league tournament. Sources said the police are trying to find out the how the proceeds of crime of a company under serious investigation, have been used to sponsor the team. Police are also baffled as how the Qnet managed to generate money when its accounts have been seized. “We have sum moned ISL officials to understand the amount and flow of money in their sponsorship from the Qnet company which had defrauded several investors,“ said an official.

Whistleblower Gurupreet Anand said it is disheartening to see how money looted from innocent people in India through money circulation schemes is making its way back into some Bollywood and sports events.

Qnet is a Malaysian-based network marketing company against whom cheating offences were registered across the country including Mumbai, Hyderabad, Vijaywada, Bangalore, Gurgaon. The company , previously known as Goldquest and Questnet, has been accused of running an illegal Pyramid Scheme, and in the process, duping lakhs of innocent Indians of their hard-earned money .

The total amount involved in the Qnet scam is now estimated to be more than Rs 7,000 crore. Police have so far arrested 18 Qnet officials in the ongoing scam. Last month, a special court rejected the anticipatory bail plea of Michael Ferreira, winner of the World Amateur Billiards Championship and a Padma Bhushan recipient, and four others in the QNet case. They have approached the Bombay high court for anticipatory bail.