The Enforcement Directorate (ED) announced the seizure of immovable properties valued at Rs 4.50 crore and cash amounting to Rs 1.70 crore under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002. This action was taken in connection with a cheating case involving Vikas Kalra and others, as per an FIR filed by Haryana Police. The investigation revealed that the accused, in collaboration, established a fictitious entity named Crypto World Trading Company to attract investments with promises of high returns.
It was found that the suspects defrauded numerous investors by operating a website for the entity, issuing credit points as returns that could only be redeemed by bringing in new investors. The funds, amounting to crores, were received through cash, bank accounts, and crypto wallets. The ED scrutinized multiple bank accounts of the suspects and their relatives, uncovering a trail of money laundering through various channels, ultimately leading to investments in properties held under their family members’ names.
In December, the ED conducted searches in Haryana and Chandigarh, revealing that the accused had set up accounts on the global crypto exchange Binance to deceive investors through a fraudulent online platform. Victims, primarily from Haryana, were enticed with promises of higher profits by recruiting more investors, akin to a chain system, within the cryptocurrency market.
