QNet, Oriflame and and fifteen MLM companies have received fraud warnings from India’s Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA).

As
reported by MoneyLife
on December 13th;

The Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) has issued notice to 17 entities that were found violating Consumer Protection (Direct Selling) Rules, 2021.

Of these, 13 entities are currently under investigation and reply from three of the entities is awaited, the CCPA says.

Qnet has been cited as Vihaan Direct Selling (India) Pvt Ltd, the shell company QNet uses to operate India.

Oriflame is cited as Oriflame India Pvt Ltd. The other fifteen MLM companies appear to be local entities I’m not familiar with.

The CCPA says some fraudulent entities misuse the direct selling model to promote illegal pyramid or money circulation schemes.

“These entities often make unrealistic promises of high commissions, foreign trips, entrepreneurship, high returns and wealthy future, contingent on recruiting others, which violates consumer trust and established laws, thereby exposing consumers to a fraudulent pyramid and money circulation schemes.”

QNet, Vihaan Direct Selling India and founder Vijay Eswaran (right), have a long history of fraud in India.

As documented in
Daily Exposed’s 2017 QNet review
;

in 2013 the EOW froze several bank accounts tied to QNet;

in 2014 the EOW secured an order prohibiting Vihaan Direct Selling from operating in India;

in 2016 the Delhi EOW registered its first criminal compliant against QNet and Vihaan Direct Selling;

Vihaan Direct Selling India majority shareholder Michael Ferreira was
arrested
in 2016; and

QNet founder Vijay Eswaran, a Malaysian national, is wanted by Indian authorities

Since then;

seventy victims protested lack of regulatory action against QNet in Bengaluru (2018);

an Indian QNet victim
committed suicide
after losing $28,900 (2019);

an investigation into commissions owed to 200,000 QNet promoters revealed
government corruption and a national security threat
(2019);

over 500 individuals, among them Indian celebrities, were
summoned by the Cyberabad EOW to explain their public QNet endorsements
(2019);

QNet’s Vihaan Direct Selling India operations were
shut down by the Union Ministry of Corporate Affairs
(2019);

three QNet promoters were arrested by the Odisha EOW (2019);

$11 million tied to
QNet’s money laundering operations in India
was frozen in January 2023;

$16 million tied to QNet was
frozen as part of a Hyderabad criminal case
in March 2023;

three QNet executives were
arrested in Hyderabad
in May 2023;

eighteen QNet scammers were
arrested in Jaipur
in October 2023;

the Manipur QNet Victim’s Welfare Association
called on Indian authorities to take action against QNet
in October 2023; and

a new QNet criminal case was opened in Indore in September 2024

Government corruption aside, despite the above Indian authorities seem unable to rid the country of QNet once and for all.

As of November 2024, SimilarWeb was tracking ~344,000 monthly visits to QNet’s website. India, typically the largest source of QNet website traffic, has slipped to third place (down 29% month on month).

Replacing Indian QNet victims we now have consumers being recruited in Russia (21%) and Turkey (19%).

Oriflame is a Swedish MLM company founded in 1967. Oriflame markets personal care, nutritional supplements and apparel products.

In line with
Oriflame’s “pay to play” business model
, it’s assumed CCPA’s Oriflame fraud warning pertains to pyramid recruitment over retail sales.

At time of publication SimilarWeb was not tracking India as a top source of traffic to Oriflame’s website.

🤖 Quick Answer

What action did India's Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) take against QNet and Oriflame?
In December 2024, the CCPA issued notices to 17 entities, including QNet (operating in India through Vihaan Direct Selling India Pvt Ltd) and Oriflame India Pvt Ltd, for violating the Consumer Protection (Direct Selling) Rules, 2021. Thirteen entities remained under investigation, with replies from three still pending.

Why did the CCPA target these direct selling companies?
The CCPA identified violations of India's Consumer Protection (Direct Selling) Rules, 2021. According to the authority, certain fraudulent entities were misusing the direct selling model to promote illegal pyramid schemes, prompting formal notices and investigations into 17 companies operating within India's direct selling sector.

**How does QNet operate in India according to the

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