1/07/11
Fellow and Dear Speak Asians,
Greetings,
We are announcing some new measures for moving forward which reflects our consistent approach for taking the business forward along with our Speak Asian community. We wish to reassure all Speak Asians that Company is putting all its efforts in ensuring the best interest of panelist.
1. We are holding a business re-start meeting on July 9th in Mumbai . This meeting shall constitute all the Managers, Distributors of SAOL, The discussion will be primarily on the process involved for going further.
2. We are here to work with you for a great future for which a local presence will be important for moving forward as we grow together. Speak Asia is launching a new India centric website on July 10th. The site will provide information on products, services offered by Speak Asia and show case on how to burn your reward points. We regret for the delay in launch of the site which is largely due to reasons beyond our control .However we are sure that once the operations begin there is no looking back.
3. We will soon be moving into a spanking new office, our permanent establishment (PE) in Mumbai. As you read this communication , finishing touches to inspiring design for the new office are being given and this large liaison office will be the hub of our joint growth.
4. Distribution of Rewards has taken shape. Provogue Gift vouchers have been sent and utilized by panelists. Confirmations for the winners of Laptops, Television and Cell Phones are being obtained to start the distribution process in shortest possible time.
5. Soon you will see Speak Asia’s new advertising campaign. So whether you are outdoors, watching television or reading a newspaper, your company will be occupying top of mind recall with its new message about the products & services, rewards points earning and many more benefits you will get.
So keep a look out on your email box as a lot of communication will come to you from the company .
Fellow Speak Asians, here’s to the future which belongs to ‘Our Community’ !
Team Speak Asia
PMO asks for investigation and action against Speak Asia
The RBI and the ministries have already stepped up their investigations against the MLM company
It seems that pressure is mounting on the government to tighten the noose around the dubious multi-level marketing (MLM) company Speak Asia online Pte Ltd. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and the Income-Tax (I-T) department have already initiated investigation against Speak Asia and bank accounts of the company's franchisees have been frozen.
Sources have confirmed that the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is investigating the operations of the online survey company, which was promising Rs500 a week for just filing online surveys. The investigation would mainly look into financial irregularities, money collection and remittances abroad. Meanwhile, other pyramid schemes are also making headlines with regularity.
Recently, the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) forwarded the complaints filed by Kirit Somaiya, former member of parliament (MP) and national secretary of the Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) along with the complaints of party MPs Prakash Javdekar and Hansraj Ahir, to the home secretary, finance secretary and ministry of corporate affairs (MCA). In a release, Mr Somaiya said the MCA and the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) have intimated him that they have started an inquiry and investigation into the functioning of Speak Asia.
Moneylife and its affiliate Moneylife Foundation, a not-for-profit organisation which promotes financial literacy, had sent a representation, dated 17 May 2011, to the prime minister, urging him to completely ban MLM companies in India or to bring them under the regulation of either the RBI or SEBI. We also requested urgent intervention to investigate Speak Asia for the ambiguities prevailing over its business model and source of funding.
Moneylife columnist Veeresh Malik also filed a Right to Information (RTI) query on 14th June with the PMO, seeking to know the action taken on the representation sent by Moneylife.
The ministry of corporate affairs had earlier said that it would not take any action against the survey company. "Speak Asia is not registered in India so we cannot initiate any investigation against it. MCA does not have any database of the company," corporate affairs secretary DK Mittal had told media persons.
Experts point out that since the PMO has also forwarded the complaints to the ministry of corporate affairs, it remains to be seen what action the ministry will take, as they had earlier shown their inability to initiate any investigation.
Andhra Pradesh police arrests two agents of Speak Asia
Acting on a complaint filed by an NGO, the AP police have also frozen bank accounts of two franchisees of Speak Asia operating in the state and seized laptops, desktop computers, bank pass books and other material related to their MLM activities
The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) of the Andhra Pradesh police has arrested two persons running a franchisee of Speak Asia online Pte Ltd and frozen their bank accounts. Vijaywada-based Corporate Fraud Watch Society, a non-government organisation (NGO) had filed a complaint against the company, its promoters, directors, secretaries, representatives, employees and distributors.
In a statement, Dr Mahender Kumar Rathod, superintendent of police, economic offences wing, CID, Andhra Pradesh, said, "The CID once again appeals to the general public not to believe the deceitful promises given by this type of companies. It is pertinent to say that the amount of Rs3 lakh deposited by the franchise in AP have been frozen by the Reserve Bank of India since the company has no authorisation/registration under the Companies Act."
Syama Sundar, secretary of the Corporate Frauds Watch Society had filed the complaint, following which the police, arrested Devireddy (D) Srinivas Reddy and Lanka Venkata Ayyappa (LVA) Swamy on Sunday. Both were operating franchises of Speak Asia in the state. The police also froze their bank accounts and seized their laptops, desktop computers, bank pass books and other material pertaining to MLM activities. The additional chief metropolitan magistrate, Vijaywada, has sent both, Mr Reddy and Mr Swamy to judicial custody.
D Srinivas Reddy was working as a chartered accountant in a private company before joining and becoming a franchise of Speak Asia, about five months back. He had confessed to enrolled three panellists and the police are further analysing his laptop. LVA Swamy is a computer technician. He joined and become franchisee of Speak Asia along with Mr Reddy. However, he was using Mr Reddy's office and facilities for all his transactions with the company, the police said.
On 25th June, the Vijaywada unit of the CID conducted a surprise check under the supervision of deputy superintendent, YV Ramana Kumar, on the residence of Mr Reddy and Mr Swamy.
The Andhra Pradesh police had registered a case under Section 420 (cheating) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and Sections 4, 5 and 6, read with Section 2(c), 3 of the Prize Chits and Money Circulation Schemes (Banning) Act, 1978.
In Andhra Pradesh alone, around 30,000 persons were enrolled with Speak Asia. The company has no registration in India under the Companies Act 1956. Likewise, Speak Asia has been running the money circulation business illegally without any authorisation from the competent authority in India. "This is a bogus company having 150-170 franchises in India, among them the two above mentioned persons are from AP," the police statement said.
As part of its ongoing operation to curb dubious MLM schemes, the Kerala police banned the meeting of Amway, a popular MLM company. According to the reports, about 300 distributors of Amway had gathered at a hotel in Thrissur. However, the police declined to give them any permission for a meeting. The Kerala director general of police has also cautioned people against the illegal network marketing.
