Acting against cyber fraudsters targeting US nationals through illegal call centers, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) conducted searches at nine locations in Punjab, Haryana, and Delhi. The ED seized digital devices, Rs 34 lakh in cash, and incriminating records during the operations. These actions were taken under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002, as part of a money laundering investigation.
The investigation revealed that the fraudsters duped US victims by posing as technical support call center services. They obtained crucial information from victims and threatened them with IRS (Internal Revenue Service, US) actions. The fraudsters then coerced victims into transferring money to crypto accounts, which was later moved to cryptocurrency wallets and shell entities for personal gains.
The illegal call center, Digikaps – the Future of Digital, had 36 employees involved in the fraudulent activities. The ED identified key individuals, including Jiger Ahmed, Yash Khurana, Inderjeet Singh Bhali, and Nikhil Sharma, supervised by Joney, Dakshay Sethi, and Gaurav Verma. These individuals were part of a network conducting transnational financial crimes by defrauding foreign citizens through cyber fraud.
Based on information from the FBI, the ED initiated the investigation following a FIR registered by the CBI under various Sections of BNS 2023. The accused were found to have diverted the proceeds of crime into real estate investments. The recent search operation led to the recovery of digital devices, Rs 34 lakh in unaccounted cash, and incriminating records linking the accused to significant investments and properties in India and abroad.
