Manager arrested for cheating vegetable supplier of Rs 4.6 lakh

Speak Asia is back in the news for yet another scam. The Nehru Nagar police in Kurla arrested Vaishali Sonavane (38), a manager of Speak Asia, in connection with a fraud case. Complainant Vivek Shinde, a vegetable supplier, claims to have been cheated by Sonavane of Rs 4.6 lakh in an online survey scam.

Shinde had registered a First Information Report (FIR) against Sonavane on March 27 this year accusing Sonavane of duping him of Rs 4.6 lakh that he had invested in the company through her. "I was a vegetable supplier. I invested all my money in the company through Sonavane," said Shinde.

When the FIR was registered in March, the police did not show much interest in the case. After many attempts to convince the police, the accused was arrested on Tuesday.

Shinde has not been the only one to be duped by the company. Navniit Khhosla, another distraught investor was the first person to register an FIR against Speak Asia last year, but later withdrew his complaint after recovering his losses.

Khhosla had registered the FIR after losing Rs 6 lakh in the company investments. His complaint prompted the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) to arrest over 10 employees, including few of the company's high-ranking officers.

What is Speak Asia?
Speak Asia is a Singapore-based online survey company accused of collecting Rs 2,265 crore as membership fee from its 24 lakh investors across the country of which 1 lakh were minors. The company requested members to pay an initial amount of Rs 11,000 promising them huge returns of Rs 48,000 in 12 months in exchange for taking part in its survey. However, none of the members got any returns as promised. u00a0