The Enforcement Directorate (ED) disclosed on Friday that it has submitted a charge sheet against VRM Business Services Private Limited, an IT company based in Kolkata, and its directors, including Rajesh Goenka, for allegedly operating an illegal call center and embezzling crores of rupees from the public. The charge sheet was filed under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002, as per an ED statement.
Earlier, the ED had seized assets and frozen bank accounts totaling Rs 2.35 crore and provisionally attached immovable property valued at Rs 11.14 crore under the PMLA, 2002, the ED statement mentioned. The investigation was initiated by the ED based on an FIR filed by the Electronics Complex Bidhannagar Police Station against Rajesh Goenka and others for allegedly running an unauthorized call center and deceiving customers by posing as representatives of well-known service providers without providing any services, thereby defrauding foreign nationals.
According to the ED, VRM Business Services Private Limited and its Director Rajesh Goenka facilitated the operation of illegal call centers at their premises, where callers defrauded foreign nationals by promising software services. The accused company and its directors allegedly amassed at least Rs 20.35 crore through fraudulent means from foreign nationals, using similar tactics to acquire jewelry and immovable assets.
The ED stated that Rajesh Goenka, through VRM Business Services Private Limited, was the primary beneficiary of the ill-gotten gains. Additionally, the callers at the illegal call center, operating from the company’s premises, also benefited from the proceeds of crime. The ED investigation uncovered that the unauthorized establishment, under Rajesh Goenka’s direction, systematically defrauded foreign nationals through impersonation, coercion, and manipulation of computer systems.
The fraudsters, posing as representatives of multinational corporations, contacted foreign victims via VoIP calls, coerced them under false pretenses, and tricked them into making payments for nonexistent services, resulting in financial gain for the perpetrators and losses for numerous foreign nationals, the ED statement detailed.
