In the wake of the increasing cases of fraudsters duping citizens around the country under the guise of digital arrests and laundering of money, the Enforcement Directorate on Wednesday carried out searches in Gujarat and Maharashtra. ED search was made under a money laundering probe related to fraudsters who are accused of carrying out cybercrimes such as digital arrests and channelling funds worth over ₹100 crore outside the country, official sources added.
Reports suggest, the Enforcement Directorate's Ahmedabad zonal office has been conducting raids since early morning in various areas of Gujarat and Maharashtra. The raids have also revealed that they are still going on in Mumbai in Maharashtra, Surat, and Ahmedabad in Gujarat. Searches are being carried out under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
The PMLA case was initiated based on First Information Report (FIR) registered by the Gujarat Police against Makbul Doctor, Kaashif Doctor, Bassam Doctor, Mahesh Mafatlal Desai, Maaz Abdul Raheem Nada, and other associates.
Also read: ED to officials : Seek Dir's approval before summoning lawyers
All the members accused in the case by ED are said to have indulged in cheating the general public through different cyber scams, including fake USDT trading (cryptocurrency), digital arrests, and so on, they added. The scammers got the money from unsuspecting individuals through cyber fraud. Once the crime was committed, the money was remitted into the bank accounts opened by either making use of the KYC of fake individuals or by photocopying the KYC documents.
Additionally, the illegal funds were exchanged into cryptocurrency by many operators. One of the officials said that the scam involves engaging in cheating common people of over ₹100 crores through different cyber scams, including fraudulent USDT trading, digital arrest, and other ways. However, the details of the arrests and seizure of property have not been made public by the federal investigating agency.
Also read: ED to officials : Seek Dir's approval before summoning lawyers
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