Arrest of Amway India CEO a big blow: IDSA

KOCHI: Describing the arrest of Amway India Chairman and CEO William Pinckney as a "big blow", Indian Direct Selling Association ( IDSA) today sought from the Centre immediate operational clarity and a separate legislation for the industry.


The arrest of Pinckney, an American national, and two directors of the network marketing company in Kozikode recently was a "big blow" and has not only "dazed" the industry, but also risked the future of lakhs of independent sale distributors in the direct selling industry in India, IDSA said.

It is a "big dampener" and "unfortunate" incident, IDSA Secretary General Chavi Hemanth told reporters here.

The Amway officials were booked under the Prize Chits and Money Circulation Schemes (Banning) Act based on complaints by distributors in 2011. The three have been granted bail.

In an attempt to clear the cloud over the operational ambiguities for Direct selling Industry in India, the IDSA has sought from the government a clear policy framework and exclusion from the PCMC (Prize chits and Money Circulation schemes) Act.

The industry pledges to stand together against the continued harassment because of the collapse happening often between the fraudulent financial pyramid schemes and Direct selling companies, Hemanth said.

Such arrests would send wrong signals to the global companies in India and will affect the investment floating into the country, she added.

Four cases had been registered in Wynad and one in Kozhikode against Amway, which were all consumer redressal cases, she said.