Billiards Champion Michael Ferreira Catches Break In Multicrore QNet Scam

HYDERABAD: Billiards champion Michael Ferreira, arrested in a 400-crore scam involving marketing company QNet, will get a break from the investigations against him. A court in Hyderabad suspended investigations in the case today.

Mr Ferreira, 78, surrendered in Mumbai earlier this month after failing to get protection from court. He and his three associates were handed over to the Hyderabad police on Tuesday.

The four were associates in a company linked to QNet, a multi-level marketing firm that ran a Ponzi scheme and asked people to invest between R
s.
 30,000 to R
s.
 7.5 lakh. Around five



lakh investors were allegedly cheated.

QNet and its franchisee firms allegedly sold products such as magnetic disks with 'healing' properties, herbal medicines and holiday schemes. The company used the banned 'binary pyramid' model in its marketing schemes.

The money earned by QNet was diverted out of the country, prosecutors alleged in court.

Following a complaint from some investors, investigators in Hyderabad arrested four employees of QNet last month. The trail finally led to Mr Ferreira, a sports legend who was honoured with India's third highest civilian award Padma Bhushan in 1983.