The Chief Judicial Magistrate Court here, on Tuesday, granted bail to Amway India’s Chairman and its two directors.
Chief Judicial Magistrate N. Ravisankar granted bail to William S. Pinckney, Chairman and CEO of the network marketing firm, as well as directors of the firm, Sanjay Malhotra and Anshu Budhraja, on condition that those accused should appear before the investigating officer as and when summoned.
The accused were arrested by the Mepadi police on Monday in Kozhikode under Section 420 (cheating ) of the Indian Penal Code, and Section 3 and 4 of the Prize Chits and Money Circulation Schemes (Banning) Act,.
They were arrested in connection with three complaints filed by A. Ashraf and K. Jaffer at Rippon near Mepadi, and P. Hariharan at Vaduvanchal, near Ambalavayal, in 2011.
The complainants accused the company of failure to ensure the promised benefits to those who joined the network marketing business. Moreover, they alleged that the company had forced them to purchase and resell its products such as cosmetic items.
Meanwhile, Amway, in a press release, issued here on Tuesday, said the detention of its Chairman and twodirectors would tarnish the image of the country as an investment destination. Such a rash action serves little purpose, the release added.
The issue was similar to a routine consumer redressal mechanism or complaint, but that had been misinterpreted and booked under the Prize Chits and Money Circulation Schemes (Banning) Act, the release added.
