Direct-selling company Amway India said its MD and CEO William S Pinckney has been released on bail, two months after his arrest by the Andhra Pradesh police in connection with criminal cases registered against the firm. He was arrested on May 26 from Amway India’s headquarters at Gurgaon and later produced before a court in Kurnool district, which sent him to judicial custody after rejecting his bail plea. He was subsequently arrested in various criminal cases registered against him on allegations of financial irregularities by Amway.
?The release of Amway India CEO Bill Pinckney is a great relief. We are thankful that after these many weeks that he is finally able to be with his family, yet profoundly dismayed that this unnecessary detention occurred at all, and are even more troubled that it lasted so long,” Steve Van Andel, chairman, Amway, said in a statement.
“Our focus is squarely on efforts to ensure that nothing like this happens again. Our commitment to Amway business owners who sell our products in India is unwavering. As a global leader in direct selling that operates legally and ethically in more than 100 countries and territories, Amway can partner to find legislative solutions in India that clearly distinguish legitimate direct selling businesses from frauds, protecting Indian citizens from unethical operators. We are committed to India and to our hundreds of thousands of Amway business owners
and nearly 500 employees,? he added.
?We have much work to do to define specific legislation which regulates the activities of the direct selling industry in India. In the absence of such legislation, some authorities have, on a mistaken understanding of the direct selling model, taken the view that direct selling companies are covered under the Prize Chits and Money Circulation Schemes (Banning) Act. This Act does not distinguish between genuine direct selling companies and illegal schemes, nor was it intended to. In fact, this Act was never intended to cover the distribution of real products and services and is being misapplied against genuine direct selling companies like Amway,? Samir Behl, Regional President, Europe, South Africa & India, Amway.
