Tennis star Sania draws flak over links with QNet
Mumbai-based Financial Fraud’s Victims Welfare Association alleged that the former professional tennis player had promoted QNet, a multi-level marketing company involved in ponzi scheme and money laundering
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Hyderabad: Alleging involvement in promoting fraudulent multi-level marketing company QNet, the members of Financial Fraud’s Victims Welfare Association have urged Telangana government to remove former professional tennis player Sania Mirza as brand ambassador of the State.
Attaching the pictures of Sania with the promoters of this direct selling company in Malaysia, they wrote a letter to Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao urging the State government to replace her position with someone who is more inspiring like Nikhat Zareen, international boxing champion from Telangana.
Financial Fraud’s Victims Welfare Association Secretary Gurupreet Singh Anand said: “Sania Mirza has been found to have actively promoted the illegal activities of QNet by having visited its annual promotional event held in Malaysia, organised by QNet promoters who are absconding and accused in several cases filed by the investigation agencies in India, including Telangana Police.”
“We would also like to point out that protests broke outside the house of Sania Mirza at Jubilee Hills, Hyderabad, on January 28, 2023, demanding an apology to QNet victims as well as returning the money received for associating with this company to the State Police or Enforcement Directorate (ED). But she failed to do so till now. This is proving that she is still actively involved in promoting the notorious brand,” he alleged.
Gurpreet Singh further said: “Though Sania Mirza is the brand ambassador for Telangana, she is rarely seen here. She hardly comes to India as she is always busy at Dubai or Pakistan. She might have been paid a handsome amount of money for her act of promoting the illegal ponzi schemes of the QNet in Malaysia, which is currently under the ED investigation.”
Besides asking the State government to take action against QNet for collecting money from youngsters and indulging in ponzi schemes & money laundering, the NGO complained the ED Joint Director against Sania Mirza for being involved in promotion of the activities of shell companies of the Malaysia-based QI Group.
Financial Fraud’s Victims Welfare Association members wrote: “QI Group of Companies is involved in money laundering through floating ponzi schemes under various names like GoldQuest, QuestNet and QNet that are involved in anti-national activities and financing terrorism in India. Our NGO has been fighting the scam of QNet for around five years and have also filed a Writ Petition (Criminal) in the Supreme Court. We would like to inform that Sania Mirza had been attending the promotional events organised by the shell companies of the QI Group in Malaysia.”
“A prudent investigation should be done on how much money was received by Sania Mirza for her travelling, hotel stays, and endorsement of the illegal activities of QI Group of Companies. Without investigation into this matter, it is not possible to know the manner in which thousands of crores are being laundered out of India,” they said in the complaint to the ED, requesting to send summons to the tennis star to thoroughly investigate the money laundering activities of the QI Group. Condemning the involvement of Sania Mirza in the alleged promotion activities of a fraud company, Harish Bijoor, Business & Brand-strategy expert and CEO of Harish Bijoor Consults, said: “This typically happens. The brand endorser of a State must be a holistic entity who hasn’t hurt anybody, intentionally or unintentionally!”
