ED files charge sheet in Rs 2.95-crore 'digital arrest' fraud, traces money in 50 mule accounts

Ahmedabad: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Friday filed a charge sheet before a special Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) court in Gujarat's Ahmedabad in a digital arrest fraud case in which two elderly victims were allegedly cheated of a combined Rs 2.95 crore by fraudsters posing as Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and police officers.

The ED's Ahmedabad Zonal Office initiated its investigation on the basis of multiple FIRs registered by the cyber crime police in Ahmedabad and Mumbai.

According to the central agency, the victims were threatened with false arrest and coerced into transferring Rs 1.15 crore and Rs 1.80 crore, respectively, into mule bank accounts linked to Quality Fruit Traders and Shivam Charitable Trust.

The investigation revealed that the money was quickly routed through more than 50 mule bank accounts and withdrawn in small amounts at various locations in India and Dubai.

The accounts were also linked to 396 pending cybercrime complaints on the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C) portal, indicating their alleged use in cyber frauds across the country.

The ED found that the proceeds of crime were channelled through cash withdrawals, angadiya networks and the procurement of cryptocurrency to make the movement of funds more difficult to trace.

Investigators also uncovered the use of a credit card in the laundering operation, through which money was used to pay premiums for insurance policies.

The central agency said that Rs 30 lakh was routed to a credit card endorsed by an insurance agent. The card was issued in the name of a third person but operated by another individual, according to the investigation.

The funds received through the arrangement were immediately used to pay premiums for insurance policies belonging to third parties, a process the ED said "helped integrate the proceeds of crime into the legitimate financial system".

As part of the investigation, the ED has attached a flat in Surat valued at Rs 30 lakh and three fixed deposits worth Rs eight lakh belonging to the accused.

The total value of assets attached in the case stands at Rs 38 lakh.

The case highlights the alleged use of multiple financial channels to conceal money obtained through digital arrest scams, in which fraudsters impersonate law enforcement officials and threaten victims with arrest to force them to transfer funds.

The ED said further investigation is underway.

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