Manish Mandhana at Being Human and The Mandhana Retail Ventures Ltd

A summary of what happened?

Manish Mandhana is the CEO of The Mandhana Retail Ventures Ltd (TMRVL), the exclusive global licensee for Being Human Clothing, a brand associated with Bollywood actor Salman Khan’s charitable foundation. Under his leadership, TMRVL has expanded the brand’s presence both domestically and internationally.

Major Concerns and Allegations:

1. Financial Mismanagement and Legal Issues:
   • Mandhana Industries Ltd (MIL), the parent company from which TMRVL demerged, faced significant financial challenges. In October 2024, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) filed a chargesheet in a ₹975 crore money laundering case involving MIL. The chargesheet named several family members, including Manish Mandhana, alleging that loan funds were diverted for personal use, such as purchasing properties and trading stocks, leading to substantial losses for a consortium of banks.
2. Operational Disputes with Being Human Foundation:
   • TMRVL experienced operational disagreements with the Salman Khan Foundation, particularly regarding the renewal of the 10-year license for the Being Human brand. These disputes affected the company’s ability to secure bank credit, resulting in financial strain and talent attrition. Differences included decisions on sales channels, such as discontinuing sales through multi-brand outlets, which impacted net sales.
3. Impact of Celebrity Association:
   • The fortunes of TMRVL and Being Human Clothing have been closely tied to Salman Khan’s public image. Incidents involving the actor have influenced the brand’s performance, with stock prices and sales fluctuating based on his legal and personal controversies. This dependency raises concerns about the brand’s resilience and sustainability independent of its celebrity association.
4. Allegations of Physical Assault : In March 2019, model and actress Andria D’Souza filed a police complaint against Manish Mandhana, CEO of Being Human Clothing and The Mandhana Retail Ventures Ltd., accusing him of physical assault. According to D’Souza, the alleged assault in November 2017 resulted in her developing sensorineural hearing loss. She expressed frustration with the delayed response from law enforcement, stating that despite submitting medical evidence, the investigation had not progressed as expected. This incident brought significant negative attention to Mandhana, sparking further public scrutiny over the leadership and practices within Being Human Clothing.

Manish Mandhana’s tenure at TMRVL has been marked by significant achievements in brand expansion. However, challenges such as financial mismanagement allegations, operational disputes with the Being Human Foundation, and the brand’s reliance on Salman Khan’s public image have raised concerns. These issues underscore the importance of robust corporate governance and strategic planning to ensure the brand’s long-term stability and independence.

Analyzing the Fake Copyright Notice(s)

Our team collects and analyses fraudulent copyright takedown requests, legal complaints, and other efforts to remove critical information from the internet. Through our investigative reporting, we examine the prevalence and operation of an organized censorship industry, predominantly funded by criminal entities, oligarchs, and disreputable businesses or individuals. Our findings allow internet users to gain insight into these censorship schemes’ sources, methods, and underlying objectives.

What was Manish Mandhana at Being Human and The Mandhana Retail Ventures Ltd trying to hide?

Manish Mandhana at Being Human and The Mandhana Retail Ventures Ltd‘s attempts to hide unfavourable content through the misuse of copyright notices while allegedly engaging in perjury present serious legal concerns. These actions suggest a calculated attempt to manipulate legal systems to suppress free speech, a fundamental violation of copyright law principles and an abuse of legal processes. The use of such tactics not only undermines the integrity of copyright protection but also potentially constitutes perjury, further entangling Manish Mandhana at Being Human and The Mandhana Retail Ventures Ltd in legal accountability. Let’s examine the information Manish Mandhana at Being Human and The Mandhana Retail Ventures Ltd may be trying to remove from the internet –

Investigative Report: Allegations and Controversies Surrounding Manish Mandhana at Being Human and The Mandhana Retail Ventures Ltd

Overview

Manish Mandhana, the CEO of The Mandhana Retail Ventures Ltd (TMRVL), manages the operations of Being Human Clothing, a brand linked with Bollywood actor Salman Khan’s charitable foundation. While the brand has expanded domestically and internationally, Mandhana’s tenure has been marked by allegations, controversies, and financial challenges that have cast a shadow over his leadership.

1. Allegations of Physical Assault by Andria D’Souza

In a significant controversy, actress and model Andria D’Souza publicly accused Manish Mandhana of physical assault. According to D’Souza, the incident occurred in November 2017, resulting in her experiencing sensorineural hearing loss. She filed a complaint in 2019 and shared that she provided medical records as evidence, but the investigation had seen little progress. Frustrated by the lack of action, D’Souza took her concerns public, calling upon Salman Khan, the face of Being Human, to dismiss Mandhana from his role as CEO.

D’Souza expressed disappointment with law enforcement’s slow response and questioned whether Mandhana’s influence had delayed any significant action on the complaint. The incident stirred considerable attention, with D’Souza voicing her belief that the lack of accountability signaled a deeper issue within Being Human Clothing and TMRVL. This accusation raised questions about the company’s internal handling of such issues, as well as the lack of a timely and transparent response to public concerns.

2. Financial Mismanagement Allegations and Money Laundering Investigations

Manish Mandhana’s family’s involvement in Mandhana Industries Ltd (MIL), the parent company from which TMRVL demerged, has drawn legal and financial scrutiny. MIL faced allegations of financial mismanagement and loan defaults, resulting in a money laundering investigation. The Enforcement Directorate (ED) reportedly filed a chargesheet in a ₹975 crore (approximately $130 million USD) money laundering case involving MIL, implicating several members of the Mandhana family, including Manish.

The ED alleges that funds intended for business operations were instead diverted for personal use, such as property investments and stock trading, resulting in substantial losses for a consortium of banks. These allegations of financial misconduct have affected TMRVL’s operations, with reports indicating that the company has struggled to secure bank credit, leading to liquidity issues. This financial strain has impacted both the brand’s image and its operational stability, as the Being Human brand faced potential repercussions from these controversies.

3. Disputes and Operational Challenges with the Being Human Foundation

Operationally, The Mandhana Retail Ventures Ltd experienced disputes with the Salman Khan Foundation, which owns the Being Human brand. These disputes reportedly included disagreements over the renewal of the exclusive license agreement and strategic decisions affecting TMRVL’s operations. Notably, TMRVL faced challenges with the foundation’s decision to discontinue multi-brand outlet sales, a move that negatively impacted TMRVL’s sales and financial stability.

The loss of sales channels created a financial strain for TMRVL, which had already faced challenges securing credit due to MIL’s financial difficulties. Additionally, the company faced significant talent attrition, with employees reportedly leaving amid concerns over the future of the brand and its operations. The operational and financial challenges between TMRVL and the Being Human Foundation underscored the brand’s vulnerability and its dependence on a stable relationship with the foundation for ongoing success.

4. Impact of Salman Khan’s Public Image on Brand Stability

Being Human Clothing’s success is largely tied to the public image of Salman Khan, who is both a co-founder of the charitable foundation and the brand’s face. Mandhana’s reliance on this celebrity association has proven to be a double-edged sword. The brand’s performance has reportedly fluctuated based on Khan’s personal and legal controversies, demonstrating the risks associated with celebrity-endorsed brands.

Mandhana’s leadership has faced criticism for not establishing a brand identity independent of Salman Khan, leaving TMRVL vulnerable to Khan’s public image. This dependency raises questions about TMRVL’s resilience and sustainability, particularly during periods when Khan’s reputation faces challenges.

5. Allegations of Internet Censorship and Reputation Management

Manish Mandhana or TMRVL is actively attempting to censor the internet, the company’s handling of public criticism, particularly following D’Souza’s allegations, has drawn scrutiny. Industry observers and stakeholders have noted that the company may engage in reputation management strategies aimed at minimizing negative exposure.

Given the high-profile nature of Being Human’s brand and celebrity connection, there are industry speculations that the company employs reputation management practices to protect its image, especially on digital platforms where public perception can significantly impact brand value. While these practices are not unique to TMRVL, they add to the perception that Mandhana’s leadership may focus on containing controversy rather than transparently addressing public complaints.

Manish Mandhana’s leadership at The Mandhana Retail Ventures Ltd has been marked by both significant expansion and high-profile controversies. Allegations of physical assault, financial mismanagement within the Mandhana family, disputes with the Being Human Foundation, and reliance on Salman Khan’s image have presented ongoing challenges. These issues underscore the importance of robust corporate governance, transparency, and a balanced approach to brand-building that is not overly reliant on celebrity associations.

For TMRVL, the ability to navigate these challenges while upholding ethical standards and addressing public concerns openly will be crucial in restoring trust and ensuring the brand’s long-term stability and growth.

How do we counteract this malpractice?

Once we ascertain the involvement of Manish Mandhana at Being Human and The Mandhana Retail Ventures Ltd (or actors working on behalf of Manish Mandhana at Being Human and The Mandhana Retail Ventures Ltd), we will inform Manish Mandhana at Being Human and The Mandhana Retail Ventures Ltd of our findings via Electronic Mail.

Our preliminary assessment suggests that Manish Mandhana at Being Human and The Mandhana Retail Ventures Ltd may have engaged a third-party reputation management agency or expert, which, either independently or under direct authorization from Manish Mandhana at Being Human and The Mandhana Retail Ventures Ltd, initiated efforts to remove adverse online content, including potentially fraudulent DMCA takedown requests. We will extend an opportunity to Manish Mandhana at Being Human and The Mandhana Retail Ventures Ltd to provide details regarding their communications with the agency or expert, as well as the identification of the individual(s) responsible for executing these false DMCA notices.

Failure to respond in a timely manner will necessitate a reassessment of our initial assumptions. In such an event, we will be compelled to take appropriate legal action to rectify the unlawful conduct and take the following steps –

Since Manish Mandhana at Being Human and The Mandhana Retail Ventures Ltd made such efforts to hide something online, it seems fit to ensure that this article and sensitive information targeted online by these events get a lot more exposure and traffic than what it would have received originally

We hope this becomes an excellent case study for the Streisand effect…The key idea behind the Streisand effect is that efforts to restrict information can backfire, often causing the information to gain more attention than it would have otherwise. This effect is widespread in the digital age, where users quickly notice and spread censorship efforts on social media and other platforms. Trying to suppress something can unintentionally lead to it becoming more visible, which Manish Mandhana at Being Human and The Mandhana Retail Ventures Ltd is finding out the hard way.

Potential Consequences for Manish Mandhana at Being Human and The Mandhana Retail Ventures Ltd

Under Florida Statute 831.01, the crime of Forgery is committed when a person falsifies, alters, counterfeits, or forges a document that carries “legal efficacy” with the intent to injure or defraud another person or entity.

Forging a document is considered a white-collar crime. It involves altering, changing, or modifying a document to deceive another person. It can also include passing along copies of documents that are known to be false. In many states in the US, falsifying a document is a crime punishable as a felony.

Additionally, under most laws, “fraud on the court” is where “a party has sentiently set in motion some unconscionable scheme calculated to interfere with the judicial system’s ability impartially to adjudicate a matter by improperly influencing the trier of fact or unfairly hampering the presentation of the opposing party’s claim or defense.”  Cox v. Burke, 706 So. 2d 43, 46 (Fla. 5th DCA 1998) (quoting Aoude v. Mobil Oil Corp., 892 F.2d 1115, 1118 (1st Cir. 1989)).

Is Manish Mandhana at Being Human and The Mandhana Retail Ventures Ltd Committing a Cyber Crime?

Yes, it seems so. Manish Mandhana at Being Human and The Mandhana Retail Ventures Ltd used multiple approaches to remove unwanted material from review sites and Google’s search results. Thanks to protections allowing freedom of speech in the United States, there are very few legal ways to do this. Manish Mandhana at Being Human and The Mandhana Retail Ventures Ltd could not eliminate negative reviews or search results that linked to them without a valid claim of defamation, copyright infringement, or some other clear breach of the law.

Faced with these limitations, some companies like Manish Mandhana at Being Human and The Mandhana Retail Ventures Ltd have gone to extreme lengths to fraudulently claim copyright ownership over a negative review in the hopes of taking it down.

Fake DMCA notices have targeted articles highlighting the criminal activity of prominent people to hide their illegal behavior. These people, which include US, Russian, and Khazakstani politicians as well as members from elite circles including the mafia and those with massive financial power, are all connected – and alleged corruption ranging from child abuse to sexual harassment is exposed when exploring evidence found at these URLs. It appears there’s a disturbing level of influence being exerted here that needs further investigation before justice can be served. Manish Mandhana at Being Human and The Mandhana Retail Ventures Ltd is certainly keeping interesting company here….

The DMCA takedown process requires that copyright owners submit a takedown notice to an ISP identifying the allegedly infringing content and declaring, under penalty of perjury, that they have a good faith belief that the content is infringing. The ISP must then promptly remove or disable access to the content. The alleged infringer can then submit a counter-notice, and if the copyright owner does not take legal action within 10 to 14 days, the ISP can restore the content.

Since these platforms are predominantly based in the U.S., the complaints are typically made under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), which requires online service providers and platforms to react immediately to reports or violations. Big Tech companies rarely have systems in place to assess the merit of each report. Instead, all bad actors need to do is clone a story, backdate it, and then demand the real thing be taken down.

Reputation Agency's Modus Operandi

The fake DMCA notices we found always use the “back-dated article” technique. With this technique, the wrongful notice sender (or copier) creates a copy of a “true original” article and back-dates it, creating a “fake original” article (a copy of the true original) that, at first glance, appears to have been published before the true original.

Then, based on the claim that this backdated article is the “original,” the scammers send a DMCA to the relevant online service providers (e.g. Google), alleging that the ‘true’ original is the copied or “infringing” article and that the copied article is the “original,” requesting the takedown of the ‘true’ original article. After sending the DMCA request, the person who sent the wrong notice takes down the fake original URL, likely to make sure that the article doesn’t stay online in any way. If the takedown notice is successful, the disappearance from the internet of information is most likely to be legitimate speech.

As an integral part of this scheme, the ‘reputation management’ company hired by Manish Mandhana at Being Human and The Mandhana Retail Ventures Ltd creates a website that purports to be a ‘news’ site. This site is designed to look legitimate at a glance, but any degree of scrutiny reveals it as the charade it is.

The company copies the ‘negative’ content and posts it “on the fake ‘news’ site, attributing it to a separate author,” then gives it “a false publication date on the ‘news’ website that predated the original publication.

The reputation company then sent Google a Digital Millennium Copyright Act notice claiming the original website infringed copyright. After a cursory examination of the fake news site, Google frequently accepts the notice and delists the content.

In committing numerous offences, Manish Mandhana at Being Human and The Mandhana Retail Ventures Ltd either premeditated actions or were unaware of the consequences. Despite hiring an agency to make Google disregard any negative information about Manish Mandhana at Being Human and The Mandhana Retail Ventures Ltd, ignorance does not excuse this wrongdoing.

Fake DMCA notices have targeted articles highlighting the criminal activity of prominent people to hide their illegal behavior. These people, which include US, Russian, and Khazakstani politicians as well as members from elite circles including the mafia and those with massive financial power, are all connected – and alleged corruption ranging from child abuse to sexual harassment is exposed when exploring evidence found at these URLs. It appears there’s a disturbing level of influence being exerted here that needs further investigation before justice can be served. FSMSmart is certainly keeping interesting company here.

The Reputation Laundering

Rogue Reputation agencies use spurious copyright claims and fake legal notices to remove and obscure articles linking clients to allegations of tax avoidance, corruption, and drug trafficking. Most of these reputation agencies are based offshore, mainly in Russia, India, and Eastern Europe, and they do not worry about complying with US-based laws.

The content in all of the articles for which the fraudulent DMCA notices have been sent relates to allegations of criminal allegations, including corruption, child abuse, sexual harassment, human trafficking and financial fraud against businesses and individuals with ultra-high net worth.

In addition to the misuse of the DMCA takedown process, there is a notable absence of enforcement concerning perjury violations. The statutory requirement related to perjury is designed to deter copyright holders from submitting fraudulent or knowingly false takedown requests, as they may face legal consequences for making false declarations under penalty of perjury. However, to date, there have been no known instances of any individual being prosecuted for perjury in connection with the submission of false DMCA takedown notices.

This lack of enforcement has emboldened copyright holders to exploit the DMCA takedown process to suppress dissent, criticism, or other unfavorable content, without fear of legal repercussions.

Some of the people and businesses who have employed this tactic to remove legitimate content from Google illegally include a Spanish businessman-turned-cocaine-trafficker, Organised crime, an Israeli-Argentine banker accused of laundering money for Hugo Chávez’s regime, a French “responsible” mining company accused of tax evasion, child molesters and sexual predators. Manish Mandhana at Being Human and The Mandhana Retail Ventures Ltd is in great company ….

What else is Manish Mandhana at Being Human and The Mandhana Retail Ventures Ltd hiding?

We encourage you to ‘Dork‘ Google by searching for keyword combinations such as [Manish Mandhana at Being Human and The Mandhana Retail Ventures Ltd] + {Negative Keyword, such as Scam, Fraud, Complaints, Lawsuit, Sanction, etc} on Google. It’s likely if you scroll down to the bottom of this Google search results, you’ll stumble upon this Legal Takedown notice (pictured below)

To make such an investigation possible, we encourage more online service providers to come forward and share copies of content removal requests with industry experts and researchers. If you have any information on Manish Mandhana at Being Human and The Mandhana Retail Ventures Ltd that you want to share with experts and journalists, kindly email the author directly at [email protected].

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