Panaji, July 20 (IANS) The ED conducted searches at multiple premises across several states in connection with a Rs 2.60 crore “digital arrest” cyber-fraud and seized Rs 1.5 crore, foreign currency valued at Rs 2 crore, jewellery valued at Rs 1.5 crore and costly cars, said an official.
During the searches conducted by the Enforcement Directorate (ED), Panaji Zonal Office, Goa, investigators also seized incriminating evidence in the form of digital devices, namely mobile phones and laptops, along with records establishing the movement of funds and the operation of the syndicate, the official said in a statement.
The ED conducted the search operations under Section 17 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002.
In one of the cases, the cyber-fraud syndicate had duped a senior citizen of Rs 2.60 crore, the statement said.
The ED initiated an investigation based on an FIR registered by the Cyber Crime Police Station, wherein the victim was placed under a fabricated “digital arrest” by fraudsters impersonating officials of government agencies.
The culprits used forged documents and continuous video surveillance to coerce the victim into transferring her funds to accounts controlled by the syndicate, the ED said.
Investigation under PMLA revealed the modus operandi of an organised network that monetises the proceeds of cybercrime and channels them out of the country.
In such “digital arrest” and allied cyber scams, fraudsters first extract funds from victims into a set of first-layer “mule” bank accounts opened in the names of individuals and dormant entities, the ED said.
To defeat tracing, the money is then rapidly fragmented and moved through hundreds of accounts and a web of shell/conduit companies, typically newly-incorporated firms styled as “commodities”, “enterprises” or “trading” concerns that carry on no genuine business and exist only to receive, layer and pass on the tainted funds.
The layered funds are thereafter re-introduced into the formal banking system through structured, high-volume cash deposits made via bulk cash-deposit (BNA) machines, and are then routed to a chain of forex entities, it said.
These forex companies, several of whom hold genuine money-changer (FFMC) licences and have been taken over or fronted by the syndicate – accept the funds through banking channels against fabricated invoices, the ED.
These forex companies, in turn, hand over an equivalent value of foreign currency. In effect, tainted Indian rupees are converted into dollars and other foreign currencies, which are then physically moved, spent abroad or otherwise siphoned out of India, the ED said.
The searches were directed at the operators, controllers and conduit entities forming part of this network.
During the search operations, the ED seized Indian currency of approximately Rs 1.5 crore, foreign currency valued at approximately Rs 2 crore, and gold and jewellery valued at approximately Rs 1.5 crore, besides a high-end motor vehicle (Toyota Fortuner) and other movable assets, said the statement.
Numerous bank accounts maintained by the individuals and the shell, forex and conduit entities involved in the laundering network, containing suspected Proceeds of Crime, have been frozen under the provisions of the PMLA and the seized digital devices and records and the frozen accounts are under examination, the ED said.
–IANS
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