Jaipur : Recently, the Central Investigation Agency Enforcement Directorate had conducted simultaneous raids in seven cities of Rajasthan, Delhi, Haryana, Telangana, Maharashtra and Bengal. This raid was against cyber thugs. On Wednesday, ED gave details of the entire case giving details of the materials seized in this raid. ED said that the action taken recently in Jodhpur, Jhunjhunu, Delhi, Gurugram, Hyderabad, Pune and Kolkata of Rajasthan has been very successful in relation to cyber fraud.
Two CAs and a crypto trader arrested
In this action of ED, two CAs and a crypto trader have been arrested. A large number of accounts were also frozen, during which dozens of PAN cards as well as ATM cards, bank passbooks, checkbooks and pawns were recovered.
The raid was conducted in a case registered in Delhi
It was told that the Enforcement Directorate (ED) had recently conducted raids in Jodhpur and Jhunjhunu of Rajasthan besides Delhi, Gurugram, Hyderabad, Pune and Kolkata on the basis of two FIRs registered by CBI, Economic Offenses Wing, Delhi in connection with cyber fraud. .
Crypto currency worth Rs 1.36 crore seized
During this raid, crypto currency worth Rs 1.36 crore and cash of Rs 47 lakh were recovered. ED informed on Wednesday that two CAs and crypto traders have been arrested during this action. At the same time, a large number of PAN cards, ATM cards and fake stamps were also seized during the raid.
Searches were conducted at 13 locations between 28 and 30 November.
ED has said that a search operation was conducted from 28 to 30 November in a total of 13 premises. During this, objectionable documents, check book, ATM card, PAN card, digital signature, secret codes of trust wallet were recovered.
Apart from this, crypto (USDT) worth Rs 1.36 crore was seized from private wallets and various bank accounts were frozen.
Fraud money in India was withdrawn to Dubai
According to ED, Rs 640 crore earned through betting, gambling, part-time jobs and phishing scams etc. were withdrawn through more than 5000 dummy Indian bank accounts and later uploaded on UAE-based payment platform “PYYPL”. A part of the cyber fraud money was withdrawn in cash through ATM cards of Master/Visa Indian Bank in Dubai.
CA and CS also colluded
The ED investigation has revealed a nexus between some Chartered Accountants (CAs), Company Secretaries (CSs) and crypto traders, who are working together in a systematic manner to launder the proceeds of crime. During the search operation, two chartered accountants Ajay and Vipin Yadav and a crypto trader Jitendra Kaswan have been arrested under the provisions of PMLA.
Further investigation revealed a large-scale money laundering racket, which was operated through chat groups on instant messaging apps with the help of handlers based abroad. Instructions regarding opening of Mule account, cash circulation and purchase of crypto are given by the handlers on this group account.
Over 2000 documents detailing debit/credit transactions and purchases of crypto currencies in hundreds of bank accounts have been recovered and are being analyzed.
It is being told that during the search operation in the premises of the main accused CA Ashok Kumar Sharma, the ED team was attacked and forcibly stopped from entering the premises. Delhi Police has registered an FIR on the complaint of ED. After this, Delhi Police has arrested a person named Radhe Shyam Sharma, brother of Ashok Kumar Sharma, who is absconding.
