HYDERABAD: The Directorate of Enforcement (ED) conducted raids between November 28 and 30 across 13 locations, including Hyderabad, and seized unaccounted cash worth Rs 47 lakh and USDT cryptocurrency worth Rs 1.36 crore. Multiple bank accounts were also frozen during the operation.
During the searches, incriminating documents, cheque books, ATM cards, PAN cards, digital signatures and trust wallet secret phrases, were recovered.
The investigation was initiated on two FIRs registered by CBI, Economic Offences Wing, Delhi, concerning Rs 640 crore in cyber fraud money generated through betting, gambling, part time jobs and phishing scams. The amount was siphoned off by over 5,000 Indian mule bank accounts and uploaded to “PYYPL”, a UAE-based payment platform. Part of it was withdrawn in Dubai, using Indian bank-issued MasterCard and Visa cards.
The probe revealed a nexus involving Chartered Accountants (CAs), Company Secretaries (CS) and crypto traders laundering the fraud proceeds. ED arrested two CAs, Ajay and Vipin Yadav, along with crypto trader Jitendra Kaswan under the (Prevention of Money Laundering Act).
Further investigation unearthed a large scale money laundering racket orchestrated by handlers operating through private chat groups and instant messaging apps.