Speak Asia refuses to share Lahoti Committee news
At 4pm on Monday the 28th November retired Chief Justice Ramesh Lahoti, acting as mediator, and advocates from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), Speak Asia and Mr. Rajiv, representing panelists sat down for the first closed-door meeting of the Lahoti Committee.
The meeting lasted roughly four hours and had one simple purpose, to facilitate an amicable resolution to the deadlock between Speak Asia and its members over the refund of membership fees paid to the company.
Nearly two days after the Committee meeting however, Speak Asia has deliberately kept its members in the dark as to what exactly happened on the evening of the 28th. To date, none of the advocates present have announced exactly what was discussed and what the future of the Lahoti Committee will be.
Given that the Lahoti Committee was set up with the sole purpose of helping Speak Asia’s members, this lack of communication seems entirely strange. So today we ask, “why?“
The Lahoti Committee has been much-anticipated amongst disgruntled panelists as evidence of solid progress towards receiving a refund of membership fees paid to the company.
After news broke of Speak Asia’s CEO Harendar Kaur transferring over a hundred million US dollars from India to ‘at least 100 overseas bank accounts of the promoters‘ in Singapore, many suspect (myself included) that the money is well and truly gone.
Used by Speak Asia as a ‘carrot on a stick’ dangled infront of members, the promise of payments to panelists has served as an effective measure to promote unity and support whilst curbing its members from asking questions or demanding answers from a company that, all this considered, has effectively abandoned them.
The last official communication by Speak Asia was on November 10th, 3 weeks ago, and CEO’s Harendar Kaur and Manoj Kumar, along with Tarak Bajpai and other company management haven’t been seen in public for months. All to this day remain in hiding, either overseas or in India itself.
Hiding not just from the authorities, but also from Speak Asia’s members themselves.
Getting back to the Lahoti Committee though, I’ve maintained since the Supreme Court ordered its formation that in the face of criminal action, whatever the end result of the committee is will ultimately prove fruitless in the face of ongoing criminal investigations into Speak Asia by various government agencies.
To date, pending legal action are investigations by the Economic Offenses Wing (EOW), Enforcement Directorate (ED), Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA), Criminal Investigative Department (CID), the Income Tax Department (IT) and Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO).
Whilst the EOW investigation continues, the most recent progression being the arrest of the All India Association President Melvin Crasto for an ‘unexplained’ recent $3000 deposit from Speak Asia into one of his bank accounts, it is believed the other departments are waiting on a report from the SFIO due in December before announcing the progress and/or conclusion of their respective investigations.
The following of which will naturally lead to legal action taken against Speak Asia if need be. With the EOW stating the Speak Asia is the biggest MLM fraud in Indian history they have ever investigated, the ED less than two weeks ago announcing they would be charging Speak Asia for money laundering, legal action against the company is virtually guaranteed.
In light of this, it would appear that civil action initiated by panelists, such is the foundation of the Lahoti Committee appears largely dependent on the outcome of aforementioned criminal investigations and their legal conclusions.
To start the Committee now seems premature at best but that withstanding, the Supreme Court ordered the Lahoti Committee be formed and here we are.
Expecting to hear some positive news following the first meeting of the Lahoti Committee, instead Speak Asia’s members have been left in despair wondering just what exactly happened and was discussed in the four-hour long meeting between the parties involved.
Supposedly representing Speak Asia’s 1.2 million members, neither Speak Asia, AISPA nor the senior panelists have taken it upon themselves to be honest with panelists as to the exact nature of what was discussed in the meeting.
Consequently frustrated members of Speak Asia allegedly took matters into their own hands and began to contact Justice Lahoti themselves. Not pleased with the initiative shown by its members, Speak Asia was quick to criticise this behaviour, warning that ‘Lahoti (had shown) open displeasure against the number of phone calls which he receives from us Speakasians‘.
Naturally I can imagine Lahoti wasn’t all to pleased to receive a barrage of phonecalls requesting information as to what was discussed in the committee meeting, but rather than blame Speak Asia’s members, how about Lahoti direct his displeasure at the real problem here, that being the lack of complete and utter lack of communication between Speak Asia and its members.
Should the phonecalls and irritation continue, perhaps Lahoti would do well to address this issue at the next committee meeting, the date of which has as of yet not been made public.
Other than Lahoti’s displeasure at being contacted by Speak Asia’s members, the company, AISPA and senior panelists have not released any solid information to panelists.
Yesterday an update from Solomon James (a panelist whose legal action contributed to the forming of the Lahoti Committee) was promised at 3pm, but when finally published, at roughly 9pm, failed to actually explain anything;
Friends, in my previous post I have submitted my humble request to all Speak Asians that they will maintain a calm because the entire process is turning towards progressive mode.
Again it has been observed that some of you are not realising the scenario and talking very negative on this platform.
This is a platform where we must share positive information in a very positive manner where decorum is maintained.
I have a question to those people, can the problem be solved that way, the way they are looking into it, they are talking of it?
Then why (make) enquires to me when everything is known to all of you in advance, why question (me)?
My humble request to all of you is to just maintain a calm for some time. You will be hearing good news, but not your way – ok?
Similarily, AISPA promised an update from Secretary Ashok Bahirwani but when it was finally published, it too failed to simply detail and explain what happened at the committee meeting;
My update today will be very short and concise and will primarily address the following matter:
The first meeting of the Hon. Mediators meeting yesterday presided by Hon. Mr. Justice R. C. Lahoti ji.
Yesterday the meeting was attended by the counsel for the petitioners, the company (SAOL) and the RBI. Hon. Justice Lahoti ji has issued notices to all parties to remain present before him on the next meeting.
The final date and venues of the next date will be announced by the Hon. Mediator Mr. Justice Lahoti ji shortly.
I understand that it will be prudent on our part not to expect or give minute by minute updates on this sensitive matter while it is active and alive in this mediation process (but) I for one will not be able to give daily updates in this matter.
Have faith, Have Patience, Trust your Company.
As you can see, nothing is communicated that couldn’t be ascertained with a little common sense, that being that the committee meeting happened and a new date will be set sometime in the future.
Noticeably, Bahirwani’s motives and loyalty to Speak Asia’s members has come under increased question of late.
Two weeks ago on the 19th of November and seemingly out of the blue, Bahirwani informed Speak Asia’s members that he would no longer ‘be discussing the SAOL matter on phone‘. Then on the 26th of November Bahirwani alleged that ‘it is only EOW Mumbai who is still investigating‘ Speak Asia, despite the confirmation of investigations from six other government agencies.
Previously transparent in his communications, Bahirwani’s unexplained behaviour towards shunning and closing off the panelists he and AISPA supposedly represent, was echoed on all other platforms directly controlled by Speak Asia and its senior panelists.
- Calls were made to close off the various Speak Asia support groups that exist on Facebook to bring them all under the banner of ‘Speak Asia Powers’, a group controlled by senior Speak Asia panelists
- In the hours before Bahirwani’s update, AISPA requested that Speak Asia’s members not to attempt to discover what was discussed in the committee meeting themselves, urging members to ‘not make any phone calls to’ Lahoti and ‘IMMIDIATELY STOP posting comments, updates on facebook or other such social networking sites and blogs’
- Despite a barrage of protests from Speak Asia members resulting in a backflip on the policy of preventing members from openly discussing the company on the group Speak Asia Powers, the senior panelist admins fo the group yesterday once again are prohibiting members from starting discussion topics
- The blog Speak Asia Mobiclub announced yesterday evening that they had turned on comment moderation to filter out any discussion the admin (believed to be a senior panelist) ‘disapproved’ of
After ensuring that talks between themselves and Speak Asia are safely behind closed doors and out of sight of regular members, those in charge are now quite happy to restrict what little information is communicated and keep members in the dark.
Seemingly happy to use the Speak Asia memberbase like sheep, let’s not forget it was only five days ago that these same senior panelists were pleading for members to join then in ‘a show of unity’ by mobbing the Quila court where the EOW were to produce AISPA President Melvin Crasto following his arrest.
Having recently treated Speak Asia’s members with complete contempt in not being open and honest about the progress of the Lahoti Committee, one can only wonder where is that same unity now.
At the heart of the lack of communications, one thing I’ve pondered is the gravity of what was discussed. Looking at the Lahoti Committee, it’s very purpose seems simple, in that it exists to facilitate a discussion between panelists and Speak Asia to work towards the goal of payment of panelists.
The uselessness of such a process in the shadow of pending legal action resulting from the many investigations currently open into Speak Asia aside, one can only wonder what could have possibly been discussed to warrant such a complete lack of transparency to their constituents by those in attendance.
From my understanding, the dialogue should have been straight forward in that the panelists want their money back and Speak Asia cannot pay them. This is due to the fact that no bank in India will do business with them until the conclusion of the criminal investigations.
But perhaps what was discussed in the committee meeting wasn’t as simple as that. When they announced Speak Asia was the biggest MLM fraud they had ever investigated, the EOW claimed that ‘the notional value of the reward points offered by Speak Asia is 30,000 crore‘ rupees.
Yet at the same time the ED, EOW and IT all maintain that Speak Asia only ever took in revenues of between 2,200 to 2,400 crore rupees, a figure close to the 11,000 rupee membership fee paid by Speak Asia’s members multiplied by the 1.8 million panelist accounts said to have existed.
Supporters of Speak Asia would immediately move to discredit the EOW’s claims but with the Speak Asia asserting that the EOW is in control of the company’s web server and membership database records, it is hard to argue that the EOW do not have sufficient access to company data to substantiate their claims.
Could it be that this obvious discrepancy between money taken in by Speak Asia and what is actually owed to panelists was discussed in the open at the Lahoti Committee meeting?
Another possibility is that when the ED and IT jointly announced that after investigating the matter had found Speak Asia had ‘breached India’s foreign exchange laws and evaded payment of income tax‘, they revealed that some of this money had been deposited into ‘at least 100 overseas bank accounts of the promoters and close associates of‘ Speak Asia.
It is well known that most of the senior panelists are one and the same promoters of Speak Asia too. With their fellow promoter, AISPA President Melvin Crasto, recently arrested over an unexplained $3000 payment into one of his bank accounts (perhaps one held overseas in Singapore?), would it be a stretch to assume that similar payments were made to other senior panelists within the company?
The very same senior panelists that now seek to curtail open discussion about Speak Asia and the recent legal events surrounding the company.
One aspect that supports both of these possibilities was the revelation that (Speak Asia’s?) lawyers are advising all parties involved on what they should and shouldn’t release publicly.
What lawyers have to do with a simple mediation process between panelists and Speak Asia is an interesting question, given that the lawyers aren’t directly involved in the mediation process per say.
The only explanation I can think of to warrant a lawyer’s advice in publicly disclosing what was discussed in the 28th November Lahoti Committee meeting is the risk of the parties involved incriminating themselves.
One of the senior panelist admins of Speak Asia Powers even went so far as to suggest that revealing what was discussed could incriminate Speak Asia itself;
Manish Jain: GOOD EVENING ALL SPEAK ASIANS , NOW WE HAVE TO DECIDE WHETHER WE WANNA UPDATE OR COMPANY FULLY FUNCTIONAL.
Again, in a simple mediation matter what could possibly have been discussed that could incriminate the parties involved, so much so that it ultimately crushes the possibility of Speak Asia ever restarting business operations again?
A question that can only be answered by the parties present and whom are currently remaining tight lipped under the advice of their lawyers.
Whatever the reason one thing is certain, despite claiming to represent the best interest of Speak Asia’s members, those left in charge by Speak Asia to manage its members are doing their best to hide what happened at the Lahoti Committee from going public.
To what end remains a mystery.
Looking forward, later today will see the continuation of the Rajmani criminal PIL filed against Speak Asia, the outcome of which remains to be seen.
Speculating on whether or not Rajmani would withdraw his PIL today, as has been widely suggested by senior panelists of Speak Asia and AISPA, unofficial spokesperson Anju Agarwal yesterday wrote
navnit khosla sent an emissary to buy peace with saol but the management refused, through their lawyers ,to have anything to do with him.
On the back of Bahirwani’s recent suspicious behaviour and false claims, and further damaging the credibility of AISPA, Kkhosla later denied Anju’s claims and stated that
this is a false allegation and I deny the same.
I want the investment made by me in the fraudulent survey scheme of Speak Asia to be repaid. After I read that Speak Asia had publicly stated that it was ready to refund the investments made in their fraudulent survey scheme I contacted Phoenix Legal directly myself and spoke to advocate Mrs. Singh but she declined to discuss the matter.
Later an advocate from Phoenix Legal wrote me a letter stating that the scheme for repayment of the investment was put up on the net and I should contact them only through an advocate.
That I studied the scheme of Speak Asia for repayment of the investment which was put up on the net and I felt that this was not an appropriate or acceptable offer as I would lose money.
Hence I did not thereafter contact Speak Asia or Phoenix Legal for refund of my investment in the fraudulent survey scheme of Speak Asia either directly or through an advocate.
However if there is any reasonable chance of getting back my investment with Speak Asia plus the RPs in the e-wallet I am ever ready to meet, speak or correspond with any appropriate person either directly or through an advocate if that would lead to recovery of the investment in the fraudulent scheme of Speak Asia.
All the investors who have come in touch with me and lost their investment in the fraudulent survey scheme of Speak Asia have agreed that they too would be ever ready to do the same.
In light of AISPA and the senior panelists complete lack of transparency in the matter of the Lahoti Committee (which essentially equates to putting their own priorities first rather than those of the Speak Asia memberbase they supposedly represent), the withdrawal of the Rajmani PIL would appear to be a mistake severing the only current source of information and detailed progress being transparently shared, whilst remaining not under the direct manipulation of AISPA and Speak Asia’s senior panelists.
Stay tuned.
Update 30th November 4:25pm – I’ve been informed that the Rajmani PIL has been adjourned until the 5th December. Details when I’ve got them.
The silence is deafening (and I don’t mean lack of comments).
And it actually bodes ill for the panelists. If SAOL and SJ’s panelists (presumably with AISPA going along) reached a settlement, they’d have announced so.
Thus, it is clear they did NOT reach an agreement.
Furthermore, Lahoti is smart enough to be asking questions, such as where are the money, and why aren’t the panelists getting paid, and the question would naturally lead to… the money that left India, as Lahoti can’t order RBI/CID/EOW to unfreeze the funds still in India.
It would be interesting to speculate how much unredeemed reward points are there in SAOL’s ledger, and how much assets have CID/EOW/RBI froze, and so on. (and whether those assets can cover the RPs)
I suspect it won’t cover all the RPs, not with 100+ crores having already left India, and SAOL having no other documented source of revenue.
In fact, it may not even be enough to simply refund the subscription fees for every member (esp. not with that 100+ crores outside the country).
According to Anju, SAOL gave RBI “audited balance sheets” back in October 2011.
Maybe these sheets were produced at the meeting, at Lakhoti’s insistence, and it showed figures that NOBODY wanted to see.
This is kinda interesting. Speak Asia have filed 2 suits (one in Thane and one in Mumbai, which both have a category listing of: ‘WP-For Quashing – F.I.R.’
If I’m understanding correctly, this appears to be action by Speak Asia themselves to try and invalidate the original FIR filed against them?
Whatever they are trying to squash, the next hearing date has been set for December 9th, 2011 – and for some reason neither AISPA or the senior panelists have mentioned this particular legal action publicly (as far as I know).
Interestingly enough, the 9th December is the same date set for AISPA’s WRIT filed yesterday over the Crasto arrest.
Crasto’s custody period is up this Friday, are AISPA preemptively expecting the EOW to be granted further custody of Crasto due to information revealed as a result of his interrogation?
One would think a writ with a hearing date of the 9th December when Crasto is due out this Friday would be largely useless otherwise.
I note AISPA have listed the Criminal Procedure Code (Cr.PC), Constitution of India and Indian Penal Code (I.P.C) in the writ so it appears they have some problem with the arrest itself.
I wonder how that will go for them seeing as a judge already had no problems with Crasto’s arrest and granting custody to the EOW.
i notice you are now able to shovel shit by the ton .
but thanks for giving me a nice laugh in the morning.
by the way you DO understand the meaning of CLOSED DOOR meetings don’t you?
once again soapbox quit worrying about speakasians ,we’re a smart lot and and understand closed door mediation processes.please don’t endure sleepless nights on our account.we are all okay,PROMISE.
come on man khosla ,contact the company lawyers and settle the issue ,if you are really interested.the company IS looking to pay if you’ve noticed .why fight unnecessarily?
the fir’s saol is looking to quash are fir’s in which the company was unnecessarily dragged without the complaint being directed at them.just a ‘clean up the desk’ job.
The use of the term ‘closed-door’ was done in criticism rather than matter of fact.
A mediation process between 1.2 million members and a ponzi scheme was never meant to be behind closed doors. And I imagine if the Lahoti Committee was sold as such to panelists before the Supreme Court appointed it – most people would have balked at the idea of having someone supposedly represent their best interests with no feedback provided or input asked for during the mediation process.
The closed-door nature of the Lahoti Committee is entirely the engineering of Speak Asia, their senior panelists and AISPA. It is through a deliberate lack of communication and supression of information to members that the Lahoti Committee will evidently be conducted like it was being held by the CCP in China.
Aannjjuu Aaggaarrwwaall,
There is a saying – You can fool some people for most of the time, some people for some time but you can not fool all the people for all the time. See to whom it applies in the inner circle of Speak Asia and its cheerleaders.
I have read that you want me to contact the Company’s lawyers and settle the issue. I suggest that you contact the person who has advised you to post this message and request him / her to get someone to contact me to settle the issue of payment of my dues.
speakasiainvestors@gmail.com is the email ID generated by me for recovery of the investments made in the fraudulent survey scheme of Speak Asia. Even a dodo can remember this.
You will become a true leader of the fat cats who have “earned” huge sums of money from the fraudulent survey scheme of Speak Asia while the going was good and now need to protect themselves if you can pull this off.
justice lahoti is a stickler for protocol.
this is his style of functioning.aispa or the company is hardly going to piss off the judge who holds the key to our survival and payments.
sooner or later the eow mumbai will come before the committee.at that point they will bring you up to date on all issues ,since the press follows them where ever they go.
we understand the sensitivity of the matter, and no matter how much you cry about it, we won’t post things here.things get around by word of mouth too ,and that’s safer.
Did Lahoti or the lawyers advise Speak Asia, AISPA and senior panelists to keep Speak Asia’s members in the dark about what’s going on?
I imagine Lahoti himself would no problem with the very people being represented being informed what is being discussed and what is or isn’t being done in their name.
Why would he?
The EOW haven’t bothered to waste their time with any of the civil proceedings and that’s probably not going to change. As Kasey put it well yesterday
But please, continue believing the EOW give a crap about your civil action. If anything, the RBI are attending as they have no investigation currently open into Speak Asia (it seems they’ve passed on their initial investigation into overseas transfers to the ED and IT), simply to feed the goings on to the other departments investigating the company.
What sensitivity? it’s supposed to be a simple dialogue between Panelists and Speak Asia to facilitiate payouts owed to panelists. When and how did that turn into a matter of national security?
Oz,Chang and Observor..you guys have actually summed up the whole SAOL scenario above..It seems that what actually is going on is a massive cover up by the Co. and the people at the top.
The COO is out on bail and should have been standing besides his team against the fight. The Panelists used to swear by his name and honestly have been let down to fight on their own.
As the Panelists keep on blogging that Saol is ready to pay but the Govt. Agencies are not allowed to do so, they should ask the Co. (if they locate anyone) to first plead with the Govt. asking permission (which they will be welcomed to )to bring back the Rs. 900+ Crores lying there in the SAOL Singapore Banks..(Hope the money is still there)..
Only then..only then the Govt. Agencies and the Panelists will calm down and the integrity and intent of the Co. proven. Without that this all looks like wishful thinking for the Panelists.
A clampdown on genuine info creates negativity and frustration on the concerned people (SpeakAsians keep talking about positiveness only). As you guys said the normal duration of Ponzi schemes is like 12 to 24 months.. and the management slowly pulls out..in this case (If SAOL is proven a Ponzi Scheme at all) although some did manage to run some prematurely had a brush up with Authorities and landed up in Jail and came in the limelight.
Also there is a good chance that the people who have filed cases might be (with due respect) offered deals ..who knows.. what actually is going to happen but here the stage seems to be set for a rollicking December full of Supreme Court hearings and the Anjus. Rehans and Sanjeevs fighting off with you guys with their unusual flow of logic and fierce faith in the Co. and the biggest thing of all..HOPE….
I have followed almost all the blogs written about SAOL since this May ..even when I was in US for more than 45days..in June/July.. I find this site as the most Neutral and logical and really enjoy the logic and debates ..specially by Anju with her sarcasms and one liners and Jutamaro with his wit and overview of the situation.
Well! All the best
@kkkhosla
this is my individual advice to you seeing that you can’t stop crying.i’m sure you know where the offices of phoenix law are.they are nice guys, stop by some day.
hey,at least you made some money from saol ,from what i hear.
i haven’t got a single rupee yet.but i hope to become a fat cat when the company restarts.
you can advertise your email here as much as you like ,but we are now in the lahoti committe and trust justice lahoti to return our money.
i mean ,ask yourself, why anybody would associate with a person of low gravitas like you when we have a supreme court justice intervening in our matter.
people generally scream and RUN when they smell a rat.
@Mr. Y
Glad you’re enjoying the coverage. Although I don’t have any financial interest in Speak Asia like all of the people who publicly support it, I too find following the downfall of the largest ponzi scheme in India’s history quite interesting.
Like you, I also find it amusing that Tarak Bajpai, the hero (I think Ashok Bahirwani even called him the panelists Sai baba or some such at one point), turned out to be nothing more than someone who abandoned ship and went into hiding at the first chance he got.
Unlike the gestapo mob supposedly representing everyone at the Lahoti Committee keeping everyone in the dark, Kkhosla sends word that the Rajmani criminal PIL has been adjourned till December 5th (next Monday).
Keep in mind that’s adjourned not postponed so there’s a good chance some progress was made today.
Details when I’ve got them.
Oz..you got me there and took the exact words from my mouth..Its always the **** who first abandon the Ship if it is in danger of sinking.. although he might be like the proverbial Phoenix and rise from the ashes to save the day..
looks like Anju is on the rampage again and saying her sweet nothings to KKhosla.. and yeah comparing Tarak to Sai Baba is like equating **** to an Apple…but the Phoenix should do his act very fast now or even the ashes will be washed down the drain…
Oh and Justice Lahoti will never ..never give his recommendations hearing/seeing only one side of the coin.. he will patiently hear both the parties before accurately presenting his report/recommendations to the Esteemed Supreme Court.. and the huffing and puffing by who whatsoever will not blow the actual facts away..
and regarding the never implemented business model presented before the Supreme Court some time back..(again a one sided hearing)will not stand together as Humpty Dumpty cannot be put together again..
As for the money??? excepting the Rs 144 Crore freezed…the rest is Gone Baby Gone..Adios
@Aannjjuu
You have said – “this is my individual advice to you seeing that you can’t stop crying.i’m sure you know where the offices of phoenix law are.they are nice guys, stop by some day.
I don’t cry or sit back waiting for things to happen. I had informed Tarak Bajpai that proper receipts and invoices should be issued for the investments made or else…… He heeded my suggestion and I later learnt that Speak Asia initially paid Rs. 54.crore as service tax and then issued invoices.
Subsequently I received the invoices for most of the investment made. I have some phone recordings of officials and upline including Tarak Bajpai in this matter.
Later I learnt on 11.05.2011 that the clients claimed by Speak Asia had denied having commissioned Speak Asia to do any surveys. Then the payments stopped and I was sure that they would not be resumed.
I had been cheated in criminal conspiracy by the various persons who had organised and were running the fraudulent survey scheme of Speak Asia as well as my upline. I complained to the Police / EOW about the fraudulent survey scheme of Speak Asia as I had been induced by my upline to invest a sum of money which was less than Rs. 6.0 lakh.
As they say – “The rest is history”.
The above facts are part of my 18 page complaint to the Police.
About the location of the offices of Phoenix Legal or how nice they are is irrelevant for me. You spoke about settling the issue. There are two issues:
1. Recovery of the investment in the fraudulent online survey scheme of Speak Asia
2. Criminal prosecution of the accused persons by the appropriate Court of law for the offences committed by them.
You have claimed that you have not received a rupee. It is your claim sitting safely behind a computer. I think the EOW should get your address and investigate your activities with Speak Asia and why you are misleading investors to believe that their money is safe and Speak Asia will pay everyone.
I hope for your sake as well as all the other drummers of AISPA, Speak Asia, etc. that if the investors are not paid as per the assurances given on the internet that they can not be prosecuted for violations of the Information Technology Act as well as the other relevant laws of India.
Do not worry about me. I will ensure that the entire investment in Speak Asia will be repaid to me with damages, cost, etc. This is normal civil recovery of dues.
The criminal prosecution of the accused persons by the appropriate Court of law for the offences committed by them is something the Government agencies have to take care of.
Hon’ble Mr. Justice Lahoti is an ex Chief Justice of India and will understand the exact nature of the activities of Speak Asia and the offences committed once the facts are placed before him in due course. Drummers and their advocates who are ready to misrepresent facts will not succeed.
Understand?
And mind your language please. I am sensitive to ridicule. Also advise your fellow drummers not to post false information or make false assurances on the internet. Or else…….. I will set the law in motion for all the false postings and assurances put on the internet about the bona fide of Speak Asia and its management, officers, drummers, etc. during the pendency of Court proceedings in the Hon’ble Supreme Court of India, Hon’ble Bombay High Court, Hon’ble Magistrate’s Court in Mumbai, etc.
I want you to live a happy life in the hereinafter without cursing me.
@Anju,
don’t give any importance to mr. navniit khosla and also stop replies to anyone. speakasia is not here to play any word game. a blog can not decide our fate. running a blog is the profession of Oz, and it’s don’t bad at all. saol is trying hard to restart the business. mr. navniit khosla is doing his job and also trying hard to get his money back thru legal process. so what’s the use to proove anyone wrong here. let the judiciery deceide, it’s my humble request to anju that believe in law just like mr. navniit khosla. see the confidence of him. if he can be so much confident thn why can we? so stop discussing here any matter. thanks to all.
Wonderful & Powerful Reply to Anju – Mr. Navniit Kkhosla,
Mr. Kkhosla, Please help these poor investors in Speak Asia to recover back their full money, it is very strange to think how learned persons like you went and trapped in these kind of schemes?
Even it looks strange for many to see people like you who have at-least got-back a good part of money from this fraudulent scheme but still go & fight against this company by filing case – it is raising so many questions like – you are being paid from backside to do this work..
But now i don’t think that way. You would have done that to help all fellow investors.. Yes, You might be correct! – Mr. Lahoti is an ex Chief Justice of India and will understand the exact nature of the activities of Speak Asia and the offences committed once the facts are placed before him in due course.
Let us wait and see – if Speak Asia gets trapped and not getting any permission or license to run their business again in India then surely people will appreciate your work as well as the work of Oz & Chang.
Most of the readers of Behind MLM thinks that Speak Asia will not come back again for sure & also as Oz & Chang claims there won’t be too much of money with Speak Asia to pay all its members (sad part of the truth as Oz, Chang, Observer, Jutamaro & Mr. Y claims).
But, if Speak Asia gets permission of re-starting their business by changing their Business Model or Business Plan then no one will read Behind MLM and all these 15 Lakhs people (i don’t know the exact numbers) may start to curse you all.. But it seems that chances are not there for that..
I’ve misunderstood this Oz & Chang actually,
Mr. Kkhosla, Why you took back your case? I hope you would have done for the sake of all investors of this scheme?
Any have, All the Best for your work!
Hope you might be having good influence with EOW, Mumbai simultaneously you might be having full power (powerful person with good political support & also support of Govt. officials – without that no one will do these kind of thing in our country like India, our great nation!)
to take the law in motion for all the false postings and assurances put on the internet about the bona fide of Speak Asia and its management, officers, drummers, etc. during the pendency of Court proceedings in the Hon’ble Supreme Court of India, Hon’ble Bombay High Court, Hon’ble Magistrate’s Court in Mumbai, etc. (as you have mentioned above),
Because you are the only person who is having power to raise your voice against this company for time-being along with Behind MLM, Moneylife & few private Media!
May God Bless!
Come On, Please – Do it..!
So you want to shut down conversation here too? Who do you really work for?
I was kinda surprised at lack of traffic from ardent “SpeakAsians” when only Anju and Kkhosla turned up (and the latter is a relatively newcomer here).
Let’s look at it from another angle: who does the silence help, and who does the silence hurt?
SAOL: silence doesn’t help or hurt them. They are in enough trouble already. In fact, the further they can drag this out, the more chance investigation may stall. Silence slightly helps SAOL.
AISPA: silence hurts the AISPA, as the members want information on how is the progress, and every day Bahirwani stays silent means more members are ready to revolt and maybe change sides. However, Bahirwani’s action clearly indicates that there’s a hidden factor that is forcing his hand. So he’s out pleading calm and clam up.
Lakhoti: if neither side talks, he’s probably not going to say anything either.
The logical conclusion is Bahirwani was told something at the meeting that he is FORCED to keep to himself.
As for WHAT that may be, your guess is as good as mine, but it can’t be good.
@chang,
sorry sir, please continue.
Thanks Faujdar. They have really gone silent now. No updates for last so many hours…
Not being familiar with the Indian justice system, but having a slight general knowledge of the courts… This sounds like request for “declaratory judgment”
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Declaratory_judgment
Assuming Indian law is similar to British/Western law (again, not being familiar with it). On the other hand, it depends on which PIL it was filed specifically against.
The fact that SpeakAsia filed these request for declaratory judgment would suggest there are OTHER PILs in motion.
In reading up PILs, it appears to be similar to Western “class-action” lawsuits, where instead of the victim(s) suing, it is a third-party that is suing, for “public interest”.
Clearly, this party must prove to the satisfaction of the court, that it is doing so for the public good, and the opponent will try to discredit the claim.
Referring back to SpeakAsia, instead of thousands of individual lawsuits, some panelists in the various cities have pooled their resources and are filing PIL against SpeakAsia in their respective jurisdictions.
What can SpeakAsia do to quash the PILs, as it clearly owes the panelists money, of which there is no doubt?
SpeakAsia clearly must claim that these PILs are NOT really in the interest of the public, i.e. the panelists.
And that’s where the AISPA comes in.
If AISPA claims to represent majority of the panelists, then SpeakAsia can use that to quash PILs that it doesn’t want to respond to, as “public interest” isn’t served if AISPA is not involved.
Which may or may not explain Melvin’s arrest… and that $3000 in his bank account.
It has been decided that during the meditation no any update will be posted on any related web site of Speak Asia. I think you all Oz, chang, khoshla, etc. are very eager to know the about the discussion that had been held among the parties with Mr. Lahoti.
My dear friends, Speak Asia is not going to tell you anything about the discussion, Ashok Bahirwani also is not interested to give any update and You can’t dare to ask anything directly from Mr. Lahoti.
Now, It seems that you all are passing very hard and rough time now a days. But, there is a solution for you all. Why don’t you all go near by RBI and ask all the matter about that very day.
RBI was present and I think it can solve your problem. On the other hand RBI is one of the parties and against Speak Asia. It may be possible, you all can get all the hidden things from RBI and after that you can reveal all the hidden things here.
After all , you all are the real heroes for posting the hidden secrets of MLM. I think you will get your goal from RBI. Go, Go, Go and ask RBI regarding the reality of 28 November 2011. RBI can be your best friend.
Why our great foundation (Money life foundation) stopped up conveying the above (Speak Asia) news in own (Main) website?
They are the key individual, who have started to do research about ponzi scheme & also wrote first letter to PMO,RBI & MCA to bring regulatory body especially for MLM venture in Indiana Country.
In this day and age they have given the impression of being ‘Behind MLM’ instead of Leading upfront. A number of companies are wrapping / unwrapping business element day-by-day & also duping gullible investors. Any have idea ?
*sigh* Thank you for stating the obvious. We’re discussing WHY there’s this silence. If you don’t have anything useful to add…
Decided by whom? Management, senior panelists, AISPA?
What about the people they represent, did they have any say in the decision?
Companies only ever hide information when it portrays them in a bad light (think:: ‘we can’t release the name of one client who bought surveys for us’ because there were none). So regardin the Lahoti Committee, what are Speak Asia hiding?
I personally couldn’t care less what happens. What interests me is the joint effort by Speak Asia, senior panelists and AISPA to supress what happened. That behaviour, from three parties who claim to not work for eachother is suspiciously interesting.
Especially when you consider the President of AISPA, who also just happens to be a senior panelist was arrested by the EOW for taking $3000 kickbacks from Speak Asia.
The RBI were present only to relay information to the other agencies who are too busy carrying out their own investigations to bother with civil action. I don’t think they’d be much help.
@Samina
MoneyLife are busy reporting on other things. Like BehindMLM they aren’t just a site about Speak Asia. The civil action is not really worth covering considering it’s uselessness (although Speak Asia’s choice to keep its members in the dark about what goes on would worthy a mention at the conclusion of the Committee I imagine).
Oh, and I thought it was the FIR that got the authorities involved. The media can report on scam companies sure, but there has to be a scam to investigate if the authorities are going to get involved. 10 seconds looking at Speak Asia business model (the actual one they used) confirms there’s a ponzi scheme worth taking down here.
As far as I know, AISPA just came along one day, declared itself to represent all panelists and claimed that every Speak Asia member was a defacto member of the Association.
Kinda funny seeing as how Speak Asia members have no input into the running of the Association (did they have a vote to establish committee members, or votes on the progress of their legal action?), and the Association itself is now failing to adequately represent its members by keeping them in the dark.
Imagine if you met a team of lawyers you knew were employed by the party you were taking action against, and said lawyer began to initiate legal proceedings on your behalf without any consultation from you.
Then imagine the lawyers turned around and told you that ‘a decision had been made’ to not provide you with any updates as to the progress of the action. Oh, and in the meantime one of the lawyers was arrested for taking $3000 kickbacks from the party you were taking action against.
That’s pretty much what’s going on here.
Also who’s funding all this legal action by AISPA? Every second person in AISPA seems to claim they never made any money with Speak Asia… so who is funding all the legal work they are pursuing?
I highly doubt it’s the panelists… what idiot pays a third party to represent them and then legally accepts they aren’t obligated to inform them of the progress of representation?
That leaves who… senior panelists and/or Speak Asia. Crasto’s already taking payments from Speak Asia, who knows what else they are funding (with panelists money).
A better question is… why has SpeakAsian sites stopped serving news about SpeakAsia? After all, MoneyLife is about Money and Life, not SpeakAsia (except as a topic of fraud)
False. Agencies have broad investigative powers to investigate possible wrongdoings. PILs is a way for certain citizens to “prime the pump”, but it is not necessary for the various agencies to start their own investigations.
Police (and CID) investigate criminal offenses that they are aware of, which may or may not be related to PILs. After all, you don’t need a PIL from assault victim’s friend for police to investigate the assault.
SpeakAsia has long portrayed the various investigations as first, triggered by the TV Expose, then triggered by various traitorous panelists who filed PILs. They (with or without complicity of AISPA), is portraying the situation as “If nobody complained, then it’s not a crime.” That is not reality.
In this day and age they have given the impression of being ‘Behind MLM’ instead of Leading upfront. A number of companies are wrapping / unwrapping business element day-by-day & also duping gullible investors. Any have idea ?
DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA WHAT YOU”RE TALKING ABOUT ?
read something, get some information and then talk.utter utter nonsense.
member contributions ,member contributions and member contributions.for all the people who haven’t yet made money from saol there are at least three times the people who have made decent incomes from saol and are willing to pay.contact our lawyer and he will prove to you how he has been paid.
you have now been reduced to making WILD allegations.seems your information flow is severely restricted[????].
well neither do we. but instead of fighting individually we have come together on a single platform and have been proactive from the start , and are doing a very good job so far. we are already in the supreme court and have a highly respected former chief justice to solve our problem.
if you chose to fight alone it is entirely upto you and you cannot’ threaten ‘us for choosing our way. you may notice that while i may choose to curse you[no legislation against that], i do not choose to threaten you [definitely unlawful ] like you choose to.
this is because we are decent people and choose to take the HIGH road .
a blog is not the correct forum for settling legal issues. it is a medium for exchanging views . as you showed interest in resolving your problems with saol ,i, being the good samaritan that I am, advised you to contact the company legal representatives. you are free to take my advice or leave it.
i do admit the internet is a safe place from where any body can proclaim anything , but I have nothing to hide. The eow is free to investigate me.
we will continue to gather on any forum we choose and support each other and support our company. there is no law against this.
if the panelists form an association, there is no law against that either. if we stand up and say don’t worry we will get paid ,there is no law against that either. the company has said repeatedly that it wants to pay, and we choose to believe it. there is no law against believing in something.
why does our unity bother people?
i firmly assure you we don’t.
exactly my sentiments. let the supreme court decide. you cannot expect us to take your word that saol is a fraud company , and’ threaten’ us with IT laws and what not, if we do not stop believing in the company ASAP. are you a retired supreme court justice-no.
Aannjjuu Aaggaarrwwaall,
well ,what was that about? you should have taken the high road first, and then complained about your low barb resistance.
i don’t think you may have noticed this, but this blog and its authors, have pretty strong constitutions ,and don’t balk at dragging an opponent down a bit. i get my share a lot ,and am fine with it.
but since i am fond of sarcasm ,and you have a delicate constitution, i shall just avoid any further conversations with you.
and don’t threaten me for choosing to fight this way –it’s none of your business and not very gentlemanly either.
understand?
by the way soapbox has capitalism crazed the world?
whatever happened to fighting for an idea you believe in?
i WILL make money from saol when it comes back-don’t worry,but money is not the guiding principle of my life-thank god.
Ponzi schemes aren’t capitalism, they’re unsustainable illegal scams.
Sadly it seems you’ll never learn your lesson though. How did joining Prepaid Australia work out for you?
i opted out of prelaunch and canceled my bank transfer at the last moment.i am thinking of joining pixysm india instead.care to shed some light?
i do need money to survive but am not driven by it-thankyou.
Then don’t talk ANY thing about the Indian Justice system and plz dont try to hurt INDIAN sentiments as we believe in Indian Justice
dont pass any FALTU comments okkkkk
So WHICH of my observations are wrong? Please feel free to correct me. Else… WHY did you make a relatively useless comment except to vent your SENTIMENT?
Did I say anything bad about Indian sentiments or justice system? No!
So what exactly are you complaining about?
It’s fact that SpeakAsia is trying to quash PILs (cases filed), and it’s fact that at least one panelist have filed PILs against SpeakAsia. So what exactly is wrong with my observation that SpeakAsia is trying to quash more panelist PILs? Or is this another one of your “convenient memory” episodes?
@Anju — if you can prove the PILs SpeakAsia were trying to quash are NOT filed by panelists, by all means.
@chang
saol is trying to quash some fir’s not pil’s.
Aha, I knew I missed a letter or two somewhere. Okay, me bad. I misread. (All those darn abbreviations)
I do observe that in the Solomon James/(Jemes?) case, at least two other parties have “impleaded” themselves to the case, no idea who those parties are. (Are they panelists, or part of SpeakAsia?)
Also, did not Bahirwani and others warned panelists NOT to file PILs or FIRs but instead wait for Supreme Court date and now, the Lakhoti Committee resolution?
Didn’t see this on BehindMLM so I will post a link…
Found this link:
http://speak-asia-fraud.blogspot.com/2011/10/rbi-answers-to-rti-regarding-speak-asia.html
Which RBI explains that under the FEMA (foreign exchange management act) after meeting with SAOL’s lawyers, SAOL claimed they are NOT MLM. RBI concluded that SAOL has violated provisions in FEMA. Too bad I don’t read Hindi, as those answers straight from RBI should be interesting reading.
Dear oz and Chang, what about “EOW to slam Speak Asia with ‘watertight’ case”?. where is EOW Mumbai now? What is meaning of watertight case? I think, they have to in any water pond and subside themselves. Am I right oz / chang? They have become loose, very very loose not tight.
Now , EOW mumbai should go in a water pond and sucide . They have become loose, very loose not tight.
old fir’s chang,in which the company officials and associates have already been arrested and released.
Just writing my opinion which has got nothing to do with any individual. Following the various aspects of SpeakAsiaOnline Pte. Ltd, I imagine how anything positive can be hoped for. Yes, I did invest money and got a larger amount in return. I am concerned about my down-line who haven’t got anything yet. Okay, so why did I join this company?
I remember the words of people who convinced me to do so by saying that the company is getting registered in India and going to have a PE soon(very very soon in fact). Also that it will have an ocean of products and a choice to either take your money earned or buy the goods . This was way back in February 2010. Yes, my mistake to have got carried away without an elaborate reading!!!..
Now, forget about Justice Lahoti and his proceedings(civil)…where are the heads of Speak Asia Online. Where is Tarak Bajpai???..Why Ashok Bhairawani who represents Speak Asians???..why some Anju..whatever???..Why Sanjeevs and other Speakasians???..
I would like to hear it straight from the Speak Asia Online Pte. Ltd Administration especially when Tarak Bajpai is already out on bail. Don’t tell me;he can’t speak!!!
Why no further a video from Dubai?
Why no letter from Haren Kaur?
60% fraud and 40% fake hope wouldn’t do a bit in reviving the company..Justice Lahoti wouldn’t get those 900 crores of Indian Rupees pull back in India(do they exist any longer;distributed into so many different accounts abroad). So what solution we are talking about? Gradually all these names are going to vanish. No matter how much they want this company to return and pay more..possibilities are gone. The sooner you understand, the better it is. A lesson already down my pocket and will remain safe hereon.
SPEAK ASIA is a bad name to carry further!
@praveen dabas
Why Ashok Bhairawani who represents Speak Asians???..why some Anju..whatever???..Why Sanjeevs and other Speakasians???..
praveen we are all ordinary speakasians who want our payments from the company[i dint make a penny] and pursuant to a supreme court ruling in their favor, would love for the company to restart so that people like you too ,continue to earn.
ashok bahirwani and some other panelists in mumbai met outside the eow office where they had gathered to support franchisees who had been called in by the eow.
one thing led to another ,and a couple of weeks later the idea of forming an association took shape.people all over india were called up, asking if they wanted to be part of the association but at that point people were quite afraid of the eow.the accent was also to have main office bearers from mumbai ,because the heat was on here.
it is just a coincidence of time and happenstance that have landed ashokji and melvyn in this spot.destiny ,so to speak.
i do not know who sanjeev is but he is active on speakasin powers.that’s a large group there ,actively supporting the company.
i merely chanced upon this blog and stick around because it’s fun to kick soapbox’s butt.
also,praveen don’t be so quick to write off this company.eminent lawyers of the country have studied it’s business model and found it compliant with current laws.and the company is fighting tooth and nail to restart.these guys are really determined ,and from the looks of things now in the supreme court will surely bounce back.
are you praveen dabas the actor?if so, add my name to your fan list.
Anju Ma’m – You got it right. I am one of the admins of speakasian powers on facebook and this group was formed much before AISPA formation. We have been actively supporting the company and yes we never knew these nitty gritty which Oz is trying to explain. We just wanted a forum to unite all the people suffering for the same cause and make our voice heard.
And we are very proud that our unity and subsequent formation of AISPA has given one more reason to SAOL Management to take their case to the highest enquiry level.
Yes like anju , I merely chanced upon this blog and stick around because I never wanted OZ to keep on passing one sided comments on our group.
This is the only company I have ever heard in MLM History who have written open letters to the various government agencies to give them a clean chit to which the authorities never gave a ear. But when one stupid khosla filed an FIR claiming his money , all agencies sprang into action with in few hours and rest all is history now. Had the initial requests of the management been heard in time, all this would have been resolved much earlier.
I can go on writing on this topic but why waste my time explaining this to OZ and chang who are sitting out of INDIA (Supposedly)and are unaware of ground realities in India. Our members know how much hardship we are facing due to the corrupt practices prevelant in our country not only in SAOL case but other day to day activities as well.
Delay is the deadliest form of Denial and this is what all the agencies are pushing towards. They just want to delay the matter to such an extent that our patience gives way and we start panicking.
Touchwood they have not been successful till now..
Thanks Anju for continuously kicking butts of OZ and Chang.
Any details till now Chang / OZ
@ K chang
Must read:
PMO’s reaction on Mr. Swapnil Kumar’s Plea:-
http://speakasiaonline.mobi/pmos-reaction-on-mr-swapnil-kumars-plea/
Reply to Mr. Swapnil Kumar’s RTI from RBI:-
http://speakasiaonline.mobi/reply-to-mr-swapnil-kumars-rti-from-rbi/
@Sanjeev
Yet you’re so adamantly against it. Ignorance is not an excuse. A smart person learns from what they don’t know or understand. A moron on the other hand runs around announcing that a ponzi scheme is a revolutionary business model nobody has ever heard of or understands.
Actually, after some investigating journalism by Star News (they even sent a team to Speak Asia’s non-existant Singapore office), the RBI announced their probe into Speak Asia’s overseas remittance of money. Shortly after that the MCA got involved.
This was long before any FIR was filed as bank accounts hadn’t been frozen at this stage.
Why bother explaining when you’re wrong. Honestly, this continual distortion of what actually happened is annoying. Every few days some other Speak Asia member comes here, asks the same questions and shouts the same crap, because they’ve only ever listened to the horseshit fed to them by Speak Asia and its senior panelists.
Speak Asia’s troubles since May have been comprehensively analaysed and documented on this blog, read up and stop trying to rewrite history.
Your patience does not change the fact that Speak Asia used a ponzi business model.
Your panic does not change the fact that Speak Asia used a ponzi business model.
Your support for the company does not change the fact that Speak Asia used a ponzi business model.
Don’t you get it, within the context of a criminal investigation your feelings are irrelevant.
I haven’t heard anything from Kkhosla regarding the hearing yet.
The PMO’s reaction was the same as it was in June, they simply forward the correspondence to the MCA. The MCA currently have their investigative department the SFIO investigating Speak Asia.
The SFIO released a progress report a few weeks ago, I remember the exact quote was that they expected to finish their investigation and ‘nail Speak Asia’ before the end of December. Most of the other departments (EOW, ED, IT and CID) are waiting on this same report too I believe before filing anything.
That should pretty much indicate what the MCA will have to say about Kumar’s plea.
This on the other hand was an interesting document to read over. It pretty much confirms a lot of what has been written on here for some months now. I’ll go into more detail in a future article.
in the rajmani pil,the judge once again asked the petitioners to withdraw the pil in light of the supreme court order.the judge even said that if the petitioners took more time to decide he would simply dismiss the pil.
on monday the pil’s fate will be decided.
that rbi RTI is old hat now.
we’ve discussed it previously and i even translated parts for you.
Anju – this Rajmani PIL matter is a great news, this also imply that further litigation at the high court level will not be entertained and all the speakasia matter will be dealt at single point that is Supreme Court under Mr. Lahoti…. OZ’s arguments etc. goes to trash and so will be his contract to Malign Speakasia.
Good Job Anju!!!
Observer, I’ve changed your alias to Observer2. Please choose a different alias for future comments to avoid confusion as we already have an ‘Observer’ commenting on the Speak Asia articles.
Great News Anju……………
Observer………its seems that Oz is upset….
anju…………pls let us know wats the source of this info..u can mail me vikrant_gl@rediffmail.com…
Dear OSSOAPBOX / K CHANG……….CAN U TELL Y ALL MY COMMENTS GOT DELETED………
comments that contribute nothing to the discussion are not published. If you’re offtopic, publishing baseless insults or irrelevant nonsense (jai speak asia and the like) – you go straight to the spam bin.
I try to keep the discussion here a grade above the level of Facebook, Speak Asia Mobiclub etc.
The ground reality is you all have been conned and you all somehow believe that the con artist will turn back and give back your money.
She caught me at ONE mistake. I caught her in a lot more. Why, just the other day Anju claimed that SpeakAsia does NOT publish e-zines, so the subscription revenue cannot be counted as revenue for SpeakAsia!
So, no, she’s not kicking my rear. I’ll give her credit for trying.
Ah, there’s an ENGLISH version of that response in Hindi! Thank you! I wonder why that other website didn’t put up the English version? Any way, thank you!
Now THAT is good solid information that we can discuss!
Reading the RBI RTI / Swapnil Kumar response… So in the September meeting with RBI, SAOL claimed they are importing telephones and more. RBI then said SAOL is not complying with FEMA. Hmmm… Is that the alleged money laundering?
Is this the first time the English version of the document been publicized? The .mobi link was put up December 1st, 2011, right after I posted a link to the Hindi version I found, and that was posted October 14th, 2011. Clearly, the RBI response was not that widely publicized.
This is just a twisting of my words OZ – I just mentioned these words in relation to the period when we started out facebook page. Phrases are always used in relation to some statement and it doesn’t look good on your part to twist the words and change the meaning thereof.
I no where said that I am not aware of the nitty grittys now. I was just mentioning the time period and the circumstances when we started our facebook page and nothing else. The replies which you are giving by quoting only a part of my sentences simply show your eagerness to just keep this debate on..
But I am getting off this debate for now because all I know is that
“Some people need to see to believe, I believe so that I can see. But I don’t know Which are you?”
or More rightly in your context
And I know very well my goals and my objectives. Thanks for all the care shown.
Don’t you mean eminent lawyers PAID BY SPEAKASIA TO REPRESENT SPEAKASIA….?
It seems like I have missed some points here?
Why do they consider “the judge once again asked the petitioners to withdraw the pil” to be a positive result of a PIL (Public Interest Litigation)?
A PIL is a Public Interest Litigation, or a “sue the authorities”-litigation related to the interests of the public in general. It has nothing to do with the criminal investigation of the company, as far as Wikipedia could tell me?
“The judge asked the petitioners to withdraw their case” means they have “lost” their case. I don’t consider this to be some sort of “victory” for anyone?
I don’t find any “Public Interests” here, other than a lot of panelists wants to get paid? There may be some other public interests here, like “Did the authorities do enough to protect citizens from being scammed?”.
Then again, I may have missed some points here?
@K. Chang
It’s not an English version of the original October RTI, this is a new response after Swapnil filed a new RTI request to the RBI after the other one.
The amount of ‘stop asking for an opinion because we’re not giving you one’ replies in the latest response is kinda amusing.
Based on their preliminary findings and investigation, they strongly cautioned Speak Asia to comply with FEMA guidelines. They at this point knew the business model had nothing to do with products, and perhaps even knew the goods were being delivered to a pizza shop that had nothing to do with Speak Asia directly.
From this it can be surmized they acknowledged that what Speak Asia was doing most likely contravened the FEMA guidelines. The RBI not being able to criminally investigate a MLM company, seems to have passed on the investigation to the ED/IT, who have both announced they believe Speak Asia is guilty of money laundering overseas and failing to file income tax.
@SanjeevNot really. How anyone can claim a simple business model that takes in membership fees and pays out the bulk of commissions for the amount of new members recruited is legal is beyond me.
The above is Speak Asia’s business model and it’s also the basis of all ponzi schemes. Now either you don’t understand it – or you’re claiming ponzi schemes are revoltutionary and somehow legally sustainable.
Why not? The courts aren’t some magical entity that operates on another plane of reality.
On the basis of what information we have though, I believe it’s enough to accurately predict what will happen. We know the business model, the laws and have several agencies who have investigated Speak Asia on various levels and found charges of money laundering, income tax evasion and breach of India’s foreign exchange laws. Not to mention the EOW criminal investigation which is still ongoing and SFIO report due in December.
How do you think all that is going to go in court?
I suppose now you’l ltell me Ganesh will come down in the 11th hour, wave a magic wand and we’ll all forget Speak Asia’s crimes?
@M_Norway
Glad to see other readers get interested in the Speak Asia case! It’s really quite interesting as a study of member manipulation and MLM fraud. Moreso because we’re getting to see it happen live as it were.
Anyway, the Rajmani PIL is a civil action but it’s based off a First Incident Report FIR that was filed with the police months ago. As a result of this FIR criminal investigations were launched into Speak Asia (other investigations had already begun) and the resulting PIL filed by the same parties was classified as criminal rather than civil.
As it stands now, other civil PILs in which panelists are demanding their money have resulted in the Lahoti Committee, a mediation committee set up to facilitate a dialogue between panelists and Speak Asia (ultimately useless because banks won’t budge until Speak Asia is criminally cleared).
Anju is suggesting a judge wants to withdraw the criminal PIL on the basis that its goal will be served by joining the Lahoti Committee. I argue that with Speak Asia and friends not informing anyone of the progress of the Lahoti Committee (first meeting was last Monday), they are effectively conducting negotiations behind closed doors which may or may not be in the best interest of the public.
If Speak Asia struck a deal with senior panelists to benefit them and only them, the memberbase would never know. The only positive of a withdrawal of the criminal PIL, is that if the parties had to then participate in the Lahoti Committee, we might finally get some updates as to what was discussed last Monday and what progress has been made.
@Oz — thanks for the clarification. New info always helps.
Hmmm, let’s consider the idea that Judge / Lahoti suggest that if there’s resolution then MAYBE the PIL can be withdrawn…
But would that affect the criminal case? You’ll need yet ANOTHER hearing to determine THAT, and no doubt somebody would file another suit to block that.
And wouldn’t the police themselves file a PIL in this case, based on info they have obtained thus far? (according to some internet search, this is often done)
EOW / CID / etc. can still launch their own cases if this case is quashed somehow (which I doubt).
The criminal PIL and the criminal investigations are two seperate things.
As of yet no criminal legal action has been filed against Speak Asia. The ED have said they’ve booked Speak Asia for money laundering, but haven’t charged them with anything. The Income Tax Dept has said Speak Asia failed to pay tax, but haven’t filed anything yet.
The MCA’s investigative arm, the SFIO are due to hand in a report on Speak Asia’s financials mid-Dec, after which the SFIO said they expect to ‘nail’ Speak Asia in court. Given that the SFIO report (a conclusion of the MCA investigation into Speak Asia’s finances) is finance related, it’s easy to see how all three of these agencies are waiting on the report before filing anything as it will no doubt strengthen their cases.
The EOW/CID case is investigating Speak Asia’s criminal liability and is seperate again. The status of this case is confidential being a criminal investigation, but bits and pieces of progress are made public from time to time, such as the Crasto arrest last week (he’s up for bail today at 12:30pm Mumbai time which should be interesting).
The EOW have had Crasto for a week under interrogation so what they’ve learned should prove interesting, but we probably won’t hear anything until they publicly act on this information. Hopefully at the hearing today we’ll learn if they’re going to officially charge Crasto with anything or just needed him for further information to help their investigation.
The Criminal PIL, like the civil action is about the recovery of money. That said, unlike the Lahoti Committee it’s progress is still open to the public and is being handled by actual panelists, rather than being under the control of AISPA, Speak Asia and their senior panelists (who could be trying to push any agenda seeing as they’re not telling anyone what’s going on).
That should be reason enough on its own not to quash the criminal PIL, but I guess we’ll find out on Monday.
Thx for the explanation, Oz.
I have read most of the SpeakAsia stuff, but I have dropped to check a lot of the details (PIL, FIR, RTI, EOW, RBI, lakh, crore etc.). I knew nothing “important” would happen in the court system before the criminal investigation was finished, anyway.
Public Interest Litigations (PIL) seems to be ‘special’ for India, or they are at least less common in other countries.
I don’t see much “public interests” in the SpeakAsia case, except that there is a lot of people involved in it. “Public interest” usually means “the wellbeing and wellfare of most people”, and is usually NOT related to a specific group of people. Getting paid for recruiting other people into a scheme is more like a “personal interest” rather than a “public interest”, no matter how many people that were involved in the scheme. To get paid for doing surveys do also look more like a personal interest.
It may be a public interest if they are able to recover some of the money from initial fees paid by the members, what each of them paid to participate in the scheme.
I believe Observer2 have misinterpreted something in the court system? The decission in the Supreme Court should usually not interfere with any ongoing investigation, or with a criminal case in the lower court system. The PIL is more like a civil case.
Then again, I may have missed some points here, since I’m not familiar with the Indian court system.
the criminal rajmani pil on the basis of one fir requested the eow to investigate internet frauds and casually mentioned speakasia.
this pil sent the mumbai eow on instant rampage and the effectively shut down the company.
with the withdrawal/dismissal of the rajmani pil it will appear that the eow is holding an entire company to ransom on the basis of one complaint.they will have to explain this to the lahoti committee.doesn’t look too good for them the way i see it.
besides delhi eow and chennai eow have cleared saol.justice lahoti will definitely consider this fact too.
Let see on 11 December 2011 the 2nd and the final meeting with Mr. Lahoti. After that, no need to discuss with anyone or to visit on this site.
noway hosay. what do the petitioners of the rajmani pil have to do with how the supreme court mediates and settles the speakasia DISPUTE?
What is the inference or outcome of this discussion, as commented and analysed by all of you:
1. Have they looted and left shores?
2. If they are genuine, when can we expect full fledged restart of operation?
3. If they are fraud as repeatedly said, why are the authorities taking so much time, their own sweet time?
Allow me to express my deep anguish through this forum. With utmost respect and humility, I would request all the people, organizations, management, office bearers of AISPA, advocates representing either sides, presiding judges of various courts, honorable Lahoti Committee and honorable Judges of Supreme Court to show some empathy towards lacs of law abiding, tax paying citizens of this great country.
Just for one moment try to feel the pain and torture everyone in my family is going through. I find myself to be sandwiched between Devil and The Deep sea. Very sad to say that non of you are concerned about lacs of people across India waiting with hopes and prayer to get a clarity and move on…
If they they are fraud & guilty, detain them, freeze their properties, activate the Interpol, detain those who are abroad, punish them for their lifetime at the earliest. We are 100% willing to stand for TRUTH, enough is enough, ultimate losers was/is/will be the common human being.
My sincere appeal to Honorable SC is you are our last hope, we seek speedy verdict and clarity.
If found guilty throw them out of India or if they are not guilty, let them operate in India with all honours restored, we seek speedy trial and verdict. We have placed our life under the umbrella of Honorable SC of India.
Its not who won or who lost, but, I have lost 18 months of Time and 20 years of of goodwill – Who is responsible and from whom should I seek compensation for the lost time, lost honour and integrity, lost peace of mind leading to stress induced deteriorating health…
SpeakAsia or The Authorities or The Honorable SC of India???
You tell me, management have been hiding out in the middle east for over a year now.
lol.
Because Speak Asia continue to waste time in courts directly and via AISPA to stall things as long as possible. The authorities certainly didn’t get stays on their investigations and mislead the Supreme Court for almost a year…
The SC already washed their hands of this mess, now the investigations appear to be back on track (although AISPA and Bahirwani are doing their best to drag things out some more).