The Enforcement Directorate (ED) seized assets worth Rs 758 crore belonging to direct selling company Amway India Enterprises Pvt. This is concerning a money-laundering probe by the agency, which revealed that Amway is running a multi-level marketing scam, ED said.

According to ED, the company has collected an amount of Rs 27,562 crore from its business operations between 2002-03 and 2021-22. During this time, it paid Rs 7,588 crore in commissions to its distributors and members in India and the United States. The assets include Amway’s land and manufacturing facility in Dindigul, Tamil Nadu, plant and machinery, vehicles, bank accounts, and fixed deposits. ED has temporarily attached immovable and movable properties worth Rs 411.83 crore, as well as bank balances of Rs 345.94 crore, from 36 different accounts belonging to Amway.

The probe revealed that Amway had brought Rs 21.39 crore as share capital in India between 1996-97 and 2020-21; the company has remitted a sum of Rs 2,859.10 crore as dividends, royalty other payments to its investors and parent entities. Britt Worldwide India Pvt Ltd and Network TwentyOne Pvt Ltd have also come under the agency’s lens. They provide training services and products to Amway.

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“They played a major role in promoting Amway’s pyramid scheme by hiding seminars for new joining members under the premise of selling items and enrolling new members in the chain system. The promoters conducted mega conventions and showcased their lavish lifestyle and used social media to attract unsuspecting investors,” ED said.