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Vijay Eswaran

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Yang Hormat Dato' Sri
Vijay Eswaran
SSAP DPMP DIMP
Horasis Asia Meeting 2016, Bangkok, 26–27 November
Born (1960-10-07) 7 October 1960 (age 64)
Penang, Malaysia
OccupationExecutive Chairman
SpouseUmayal Eswaran
Parent(s)Vijayaratnam Eswaran
Pushpavathy Chinnaiah
WebsiteVijay Eswaran

Vijay Eswaran (born 7 October 1960) is a Malaysian businessman and the executive chairman of the QI Group, headquartered in Hong Kong.[1]

Early life

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Eswaran was born in Penang, Malaysia to Penangite Indian parents of minority Ceylonese Tamil descent, namely Pushpavathy Chinnaiah,[2] a teacher and Vijayaratnam Saravanamuthu, founder of the Malaysian Hindu Youth Organisation.[3] Vijay has a younger brother named Vignesh.

Vijay Eswaran financed his tertiary education in the UK by working as a cab driver.[4] After graduating with a degree in socio-economics from LSE (London School of Economics) in 1984, he traveled around Europe for a year, where he did a series of odd jobs.[5] During his travels he spent over a month in a Franciscan monastery, where he took a 33-day vow of silence. In 1985, he returned to the UK, where he learned about binary system marketing and obtained professional qualification from CIMA (Chartered Institute of Management Accountants). In 1986 he traveled to the US where he obtained an MBA from the Southern Illinois University in 1986. He was involved in multilevel marketing (MLM) on a part-time basis while working for Systematics, a subsidiary of IBM.

When he returned to Malaysia after 13 years he was approached by the Cosway Group to start its Philippines business, after which he began moving into the direct selling industry.[6]

Career

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In 1998, after his return to Asia, he co-founded[7][8] a direct selling company that grew and expand into QI Group,[9] an e-commerce based conglomerate with businesses in travel, media, telecommunications, luxury products, wellness, training, and corporate investments.[10] QI Group has regional offices in Hong Kong, Singapore, Thailand and Malaysia and a presence in nearly 10 countries through a wide range of subsidiary companies.[11]

Books

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  • In the Sphere of Silence (2005)[12][13]
  • In the Thinking Zone (2010)[14]
  • 18 Stepping Stones (2011)
  • On the Wings of Thought (2011)[15]
  • Two Minutes from the Abyss (2016)[16]

Controversies

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Further information: Qnet Controversies

In March 2006 Vijay Eswaran, and his business partners Joseph Bismark, Tagumpay Kintanar and Donna Marie Imson were accused of allegedly defrauding two Filipinos of more than $100,000 in the Gold Quest pyramid scheme. They were charged before the Quezon City Regional Trial Court of syndicated estafa, which was a non-bailable offence on the basis of a criminal complaint. In April 2006 Judge Bayani Vargas ordered the issuance of arrest warrants against the four accused. The Department of Justice, Office of the City Prosecutor later dropped the charges following a Jakarta courts dismissal of the extradition request from the National Bureau of Investigation and citing it to be a civil liability and not a criminal case.[citation needed]

In May 2007[17] a dispute in Manila, Philippines filed by two former partners of the original founding team escalated to an alleged 'offence' leading to an Interpol Red alert listing the four directors. Interpol put out a warrant for their arrest and the case was fought out substantially in the courts of Manila and Jakarta. The Goldquest executives had asked the Philippines Supreme Court to stop the Quezeon City Regional Court trial pending resolution of a petition for review.[18] After three weeks, Indonesian courts released Vijay Eswaran; a Manila court dismissed the charge soon afterward.[19]

As per the order of the Hon’ble Supreme Court, the FIRs are being stayed on the grounds mentioned in the Writ Petition. The petition claims that the business model followed by Vihaan Direct Selling (India) Pvt. Ltd is not a money circulation scheme as alleged, and does not fall under the purview of the Prize Chits and Money Circulation (Banning) Act 1978. The petition further states that the business of Vihaan is compliant with all legal requirements of conducting business in India.[20]

A 2003 charge against Gold Quest for its fraudulent activities in Chennai, India, reached the Supreme Court, which in 2014 allowed the quashing of the proceedings.[21] The Supreme Court appointed a one-man commission, a retired Judge of the Madras High Court, to settle all legitimate claims of around 200 depositors.[22]

In 2009 money circulation charges were brought against Gold Quest by Tamil Nadu police. The Chennai Enforcement Directorate, attached Gold Quest properties worth 150 crore to the case under Prevention of Money Laundering Act.[23][24][25] There was a Red Corner notice issued for Eswaran's arrest.[26] In an interview[by whom?] about the charges, Vijay Eswaran denied any wrongdoing. Qnet has also stated that Vijay Eswaran is neither director nor shareholder of Qnet's franchise in India (Vihaan Direct Selling Pvt. Ltd.).[27]

In August 2013, Times of India reported that Vijay Eswaran was being investigated by the Economic Offences wing in regards to Qnet, which he founded.[28] The Economic Offences Wing issued lookout notice against Eswaran and a few others, after he failed to appear before the authorities for questioning.[29][30] Police froze six of Qnet's bank accounts in the country.[31] QNet denied the allegations fully, stating that its operations are legal, compliant and transparent.[32]

In 2014 the Enforcement Directorate in 2014 accused Vijay Eswaran of money laundering, along with his company, Qnet.[33] This allegation has been denied by both the company QNet and Vijay Eswaran.[27][34][35]

In 2016, after 3 years of investigation, the Economic Offences Wing of the Mumbai Police issued lookout notices against 30 people in connection with the Qnet controversy.[36] As founder of Qnet, Vijay Eswaran was featured as the key defendant of the case.[37]

In February 2018 Qnet was prosecuted for fraud and forgery at trial court of Labe, Somalia, but the proceedings were later halted, and charges dropped.[38][39][40][41]

Personal life

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He is married to Umayal Eswaran who is the Chairperson of the Vijayaratnam Foundation, which is CSR initiatives of the QI Group.[42]

Honours

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References

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  1. ^ "Vijay Eswaran". World Economic Forum. WEF. Archived from the original on 4 February 2017. Retrieved 31 March 2017.
  2. ^ "Board of Governance – Vijayaratnam Foundation". vijayaratnam.org.my. Archived from the original on 18 January 2018. Retrieved 4 November 2018.
  3. ^ "Father of Malaysian Hindu Youth dies – Nation | The Star Online". The Star. Malaysia. Archived from the original on 4 November 2018. Retrieved 4 November 2018.
  4. ^ "Secret Leaders | S02E14 Vijay Eswaran: From Taxi Driver to Billionaire | Season 2 | Episode 14". Secret Leaders. Archived from the original on 4 November 2018. Retrieved 4 November 2018.
  5. ^ "Breaking the Silence – Business Today (Cover Story)". Issuu. Archived from the original on 25 July 2013. Retrieved 21 January 2018.
  6. ^ Vincent, Anne (October 2009). "Datuk Vijay Eswaran sets the record straight". Business Today. Vol. 9, no. 10. Malaysia. pp. 22–26. Archived from the original on 25 July 2013. Retrieved 17 January 2018.
  7. ^ Thomas, Aby Sam (20 March 2015). "Five Minutes With Dr. Vijay Eswaran, Executive Chairman, QI Group of Companies". Entrepreneur. Archived from the original on 22 January 2018. Retrieved 21 January 2018.
  8. ^ "Executive Chairman of QI Group Vijay Eswaran Talks Business and Philanthropy – Interview.net". interview.net. 11 July 2017. Archived from the original on 22 January 2018. Retrieved 21 January 2018.
  9. ^ Frazier, Donald. "Selling A Better Life". Forbes. Archived from the original on 27 August 2015. Retrieved 21 January 2018.
  10. ^ Chewarouengroj, Sarayuth (3 April 2007). "Hong Kong's QI Group builds on Thai "destination" plans". Hong Kong Trade Development Council. Archived from the original on 27 January 2013. Retrieved 17 January 2018.
  11. ^ "BERNAMA – Qi Group's Sales Value To Surpass US$1 Billion By Year-End". 10 September 2010. Archived from the original on 19 August 2012. Retrieved 17 January 2018.
  12. ^ "Empowering young girls – Metro News | The Star Online". The Star. Malaysia. Archived from the original on 18 October 2018. Retrieved 18 October 2018.
  13. ^ "Foundation aims to empower teenage girls through training kit – Metro News | The Star Online". The Star. Malaysia. Archived from the original on 18 October 2018. Retrieved 18 October 2018.
  14. ^ "MPH – In the Thinking Zone". mphonline.com. Archived from the original on 18 October 2018. Retrieved 18 October 2018.
  15. ^ "On the wings of thought /Vijay Eswaran. – National Library". nlb.gov.sg. Archived from the original on 18 October 2018. Retrieved 18 October 2018.
  16. ^ "Vijay Eswaran". World Economic Forum. Archived from the original on 4 February 2017. Retrieved 18 October 2018.
  17. ^ "Report: Indonesian ex-president helps catch Malaysian businessman in fraud case". International Herald Tribune. 7 May 2007. Archived from the original on 12 May 2007. Retrieved 28 March 2010. (Sourced from the Wayback Machine.)
  18. ^ "News – Sunday Island". island.lk. Archived from the original on 3 August 2017. Retrieved 16 May 2017.
  19. ^ Frazier, Donald (24 October 2012). "Selling A Better Life". Forbes Asia. Archived from the original on 27 August 2015. Retrieved 15 January 2013.
  20. ^ "SC order gives new life to direct selling segment". The Hindu. 29 March 2017. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 1 August 2023.
  21. ^ "Criminal proceedings can be quashed if it's not a grievous offence: SC". The Times of India. 13 September 2014. Archived from the original on 25 April 2017.
  22. ^ "GoldQuest welcomes SC order". The Economic Times. 24 April 2010. Archived from the original on 29 March 2019. Retrieved 23 April 2019.
  23. ^ "ED attaches Gold Quest International's properties". @businessline. 5 April 2017.
  24. ^ "Rs 150 crore Gold Quest properties attached by ED". Deccan Chronicle. 6 April 2017. Archived from the original on 18 April 2019. Retrieved 23 April 2019.
  25. ^ "QNet: ED attaches assets worth Rs 150 crore of Gold Quest". Moneylife NEWS & VIEWS. Archived from the original on 7 April 2017. Retrieved 7 April 2017.
  26. ^ "QNeT founder Eshwaran safe in Hong Kong, earning crores". The Times of India. 20 October 2016. Archived from the original on 3 April 2019.
  27. ^ a b "Vijay Eswaran denies fraud allegations". The Edge Financial Weekly. Archived from the original on 2 October 2013. Retrieved 29 September 2013.
  28. ^ "EOW makes first arrest in QNet case". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 28 September 2013. Retrieved 24 September 2013.
  29. ^ "QNet scam: Lookout notices against Michael Ferreira, four others". Livemint. 2 January 2014. Archived from the original on 25 March 2019. Retrieved 23 April 2019.
  30. ^ "Cops probe involvement of Boman Irani's son in QNet scam". India Today. 7 January 2014. Archived from the original on 25 March 2019. Retrieved 23 April 2019.
  31. ^ "Cops freeze 6 bank accounts of marketing firm". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 28 September 2013. Retrieved 24 September 2013.
  32. ^ Nguyen, Ted (4 April 2014). "QNets India ops are legal compliant and transparent". Business for Home. Archived from the original on 31 March 2017.
  33. ^ "Enforcement Directorate files case against QNet and others". The Times of India. 6 February 2014. Archived from the original on 4 April 2019. Retrieved 23 April 2019.
  34. ^ "QNET shocked at money laundering charges". Concept BIU. 7 February 2014.
  35. ^ Murdeshwar, Sachin (1 January 2017). "QNET Responds to Allegations in Charge sheet". Global Prime News. Archived from the original on 1 April 2017.
  36. ^ "QNet: Mumbai police issue lookout notice against 10 including Michael Ferreira, Vijay Eswaran". Archived from the original on 19 August 2016. Retrieved 31 March 2017.
  37. ^ "Qnet scam: EOW files 55,000-page chargesheet after 3 years of probe". hindustantimes.com/. 28 December 2016. Archived from the original on 29 March 2019. Retrieved 23 April 2019.
  38. ^ "Guinée: Des personnes traduisent la société QNET en justice". afrique-sur7.fr. Archived from the original on 12 November 2018. Retrieved 15 March 2018.
  39. ^ "Karnataka elections 2018: BJP alleges Siddaramaiah received luxury watch from absconder Eswaran - The Economic Times". 7 May 2018. Archived from the original on 7 May 2018. Retrieved 1 August 2023.
  40. ^ Deepika (6 May 2018). "BJP attacks Siddaramaiah for his alleged links with ponzi scam accused Vijay Eswaran". oneindia.com. Archived from the original on 7 May 2018. Retrieved 6 May 2018.
  41. ^ "Karnataka polls: Sambit Patra alleges Siddaramaiah met 'absconder' Vijay Eswaran in China in 2013". Firstpost. 6 May 2018. Retrieved 1 August 2023.
  42. ^ "RYTHM Foundation". 25 July 2022. Retrieved 1 August 2023.
  43. ^ a b "Semakan Penerima Darjah Kebesaran Bintang dan Pingat". www.istiadat.gov.my.
  44. ^ "CARIAN REKOD PENERIMA DARJAH KEBESARAN/PINGAT NEGERI PERAK DARUL RIDZUAN". pingat.perak.gov.my.
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