I escaped being a victim, but there is little triumph in seeing the former billiards world champion and Padma Bhushan awardee Michael Ferreira in jail; only shock and some anger that he tried to con me
Michael Ferreira outside the sessions court
A couple of years ago, I got a call from former billiards world champion and Padma Bhushan awardee Michael Ferreira. He told me that he wanted to talk to me and if I could pay him a visit. I agreed. Little did I know that this man would make the headlines for all the wrong reasons.
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Those who were duped by QNet, outside Michael Ferreira’s home in Bandra this April. File pics
One morning, I went to Ferreira’s Bandra (West) bungalow — Rest Harrow — nestled in a green lane off D’Monte Park Road.
Ferreira welcomed me in and I recall seeing his son Paul (now a pilot but formerly a squash player) counting a wad of currency notes in a corner.
Also Read: First person account: How Michael Ferreira tried to net me in QNet
Ferreira started with telling me that he had played billiards all his life and the game had given him name, fame and reputation. He then went on about how he thought it was time for him to “push up the daisies from his family grave”.
Spreading the net
Then Ferreira said he had got an opportunity to make a substantial amount of money, much more than he imagined, with a business venture called ‘Qi’ (QNet was also known as QiNet). He went on to tell me how I would benefit from joining this venture, earn much more than I do now, warning me that the way I had talked to him about my future, my plan to be a journalist all my life, seemed quite dark.
He worked out some calculations about how I would keep earning money after joining this scheme by making members. First, I become a member by paying an amount to QiNet. The amount was Rs 30,000 onwards, depending on what scheme one chose. For this, I would have to buy a holiday or some jewellery, and then, I would have to recruit members. This would start a chain of income because they (the members) would find other members, and so on. Income, of course, depended on the continuity of the chain.
Ferreira dismissed my qualms about roping in other people with assurances that I would be ‘trained’ how to convince others to join.
All through the talk, there was a carafe of water close to where I sat, with a disc-like shiny object in it. Ferreira poured some water in a glass from the carafe and sipped it, saying the disc, which had health-giving properties, was what the company sold.
Mind games
At that time, I was not convinced about how I would ensure continuity or be successful at this, and told Ferreira I needed time to think. I did not think then that it was a scam, merely doubted I had the ability or time to pull it off.
Read Story: Mumbai cops issue notice for Michael Ferreira in Rs 425-cr QNet scam
I got a message from Ferreira days later, asking if I had made up my mind, or if we should meet at Otters Club (Bandra) to talk again.
Then, reports started filtering in about QNet trouble and its victims, and I realised this was the same scheme Ferreira had tried to get me to be a part of. I had escaped being a victim, but there was little triumph in it, only shock and some anger at Ferreira.
Today, Michael Ferreira, the smooth talker and king of the green baize, is in lock-up. The man who weaves magic with his words, a trenchant critic and columnist has just found out that the best of prose can’t hide some cons.
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