The Economic Offences Wing of the Mumbai police has arrested the Chief Operating Officer of Speak Asia, Tarak Bajpai, under Indian Penal Code for cheating and conspiracy and Sections 3, 4, and 5 of the Money Circulation Act.

In response to public interest litigation demanding action against the management of Speak Asia, the Bombay High Court had a discussion with the Additional Commissioner of Police, Rajvardhan Sinha, and decided to take the action.

The online survey company is originally registered in Singapore and it does not have a single office in India. Even without any legal registration in India, the company has succeeded to enroll more than 1.9 million members across the nation.

It traps people with a tempting offer where members are paid an amount of Rs. 200 and Rs. 1,000 for submission of a single and two forms, respectively. However, to avail the membership, it requests to pay an initial amount of Rs
11,000.

"I am going for a small investigation. The management of the company is there to support all Speak Asians," he said while being taken into police custody. "All departments have given us a clean chit and this too is a small an investigation”, added Bajpai. "I have a stay order from high court to deal with unforeseen problems”.