JOIN USThe Delhi Police have arrested the mastermind of Speak Asia scam who duped 24 lakh people of Rs 2,276 crore by promising high returns on their investments.
Ram Sumiran Pal (37), a resident of UP’s Shahjahanpur district, had connections with firms registered in Singapore, Italy and Brazil.
Online survey marketing firm Speak Asia was one of them and was registered in Singapore and introduced in India in 2010. “It sold web subscriptions for Rs 11,000 each and in return investor had to fill survey forms for certain multinational firms for promised annual payment of Rs 52,000,” said Additional Commissioner of Delhi Police (Crime and Railways) Ravindra Yadav.
Speak Asia folded its operation in India in mid-2011 and its senior officials went into hiding after paying a few initial investors. The company duped 24 lakh people to the tune of Rs 2,276 crore. At least eight cases were registered in Mumbai, Andhra Pradesh, Haryana and Madhya Pradesh.
The Delhi Police Crime Branch eastern range started probing the case and a team led by Deputy Commissioner of Police Kumar Gyanesh was formed. “The team finally succeeded in apprehending Sumiran from Connaught Place on a tip-off,” Yadav said.
The police said Sumiran started the companies with his brother Ram Niwas Pal and was hiding in Dehradun. Sumiran did Masters in Marketing Management from Mumbai and his brother Niwas has worked with multinational banks in the same city.
He started working with Niwas after 2008 and formed companies along with other partners. They kept the membership fee of Speak Asia restricted to Rs 11,000 to lure middle-class investors.
An investor had to initially pay Rs 11,000 to get a password of an account maintained with the company. The annual payment of Rs 52,000 was promised for filling surveys. “All the surveys conducted by the company were fake and were only used to lure people,” Yadav said.
Speak Asia remitted Rs 900 crore to Singapore, the police said. “The money was then sent to Dubai, Italy and the United Kingdom. Interestingly, the money came back from the United Kingdom again to Dubai and back to India,” Yadav added.
The Mumbai Police have been investigating the maximum number of cases of Speak Asia fraud for the past 28 months. “Some 210 bank accounts containing Rs 142 crore have been frozen. Another 150 accounts are under investigation,” Yadav said.