New Delhi: A probe into the “digital arrest” of a woman living in North Goa, who was allegedly duped into transferring Rs 2.6 crore over 10 days, has led the Enforcement Directorate (ED) to a far bigger money laundering network involving banking transactions of over Rs 27,850 crore and cash deposits of nearly Rs 2,904 crore.
What began as an investigation into a Rs 2.6 crore cyber fraud has unravelled a complex money trail. The ED has found that the victim’s funds were routed within hours of the fraud through dormant and newly opened bank accounts, fragmented across more than 400 beneficiary accounts, and allegedly fed into an organised apparatus for converting cyber fraud proceeds from banking credits into cash and, eventually, foreign currency.
The ED has also alleged that the network involved interconnected commodity, trading, travel and forex entities, including companies licensed by the Reserve Bank of India as Full Fledged Money Changers (FFMCs).
Investigators have identified banking transactions exceeding Rs 27,850 crore and cash deposits of approximately Rs 2,904 crore, including Rs 584.70 crore deposited through 61,448 Bulk Note Acceptance Machine (cash deposit machine) transactions across multiple locations, an ED officer said on condition of anonymity.
The agency has arrested two individuals—identified as Fahim Moin Hussain Sayed and Naim Mueen Sayyed—in connection with the case.
According to the ED probe, 330 police complaints and 163 FIRs across 20 states and Union territories have been linked to the alleged fraud, involving an aggregate loss of Rs 417.49 crore.
“In 101 of those complaints, the money of a single victim was routed into two or more entities of the same network in the course of one and the same fraud,” an ED officer said.
Searches were conducted under Section 17 of the Act at 20 locations in Mumbai and Goa on 17 July and more locations on 21 August. Moreover, Rs 3.25 crore worth of cash has been seized, along with digital devices, records and statutory registers, which are under examination.
According to ED sources, the probe further revealed that the companies through which the proceeds were routed were incorporated in the names of individuals of very modest means, including drivers and single-room tenants—who were shown as directors while the accounts and the affairs of the companies remained under the control of others.
“It’s a classic case of laundering. The proceeds were being routed through shell companies that are opened in the name of people who are drivers, staffers and they are shown as owners and directors. There is a massive paper trail that has been created to show them as owners,” an ED officer explained.
(Edited by Gitanjali Das)
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