HYDERABAD : The Hyderabad unit of the Enforcement Directorate has provisionally attached Rs 32.34 crore lying as balance in 580 bank accounts under the provisions of Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002 in a case related to a part-time job scam.
The agency initiated investigation on the basis of an FIR registered by the Cybercrime police station in Hyderabad under various Sections of the Information Technology Act and IPC against unknown persons. During investigation, it was found that more than 50 related FIRs have been registered at various police stations across the country in relation to this particular scam.
The ED investigation revealed that the scamsters would approach gullible persons on social media platforms like Whatsapp and Telegram and lure them by offering part-time jobs.The victims were given simple tasks of giving 5-star ratings to tourist websites, hotels, resorts, tourist destinations, etc. with daily income ranging between Rs 1,000 and Rs 1,500.
The scamsters used to collect basic details and ask the victims to join certain Whatsapp and Telegram groups using links provided by them, where the associates of the scamsters would speak highly of the jobs and post messages showing high income for gaining trust of the victims.
The victims would then be asked to register on bogus websites or android apps using their basic details including bank account numbers. The scamsters would even offer e-money/tokens worth Rs 10,000 on the e-wallets on the bogus websites and apps.
The victims were asked to deposit money to various different bank accounts to top-up their online wallet and start working. The wallet balance would get exhausted with every task set. The commission/ earnings were initially allowed to be withdrawn to gain trust.
Later, the scamsters would coerce the victims to deposit additional money to work more and earn more. During the tasks of providing ratings, random pop-ups would appear with premium tasks carrying higher commission/ rewards but requiring more deposit leading to the wallet balances turning negative. Victims were then asked to top up their wallets to continue the ratings tasks. In case of non-payment, the wallet balances were frozen and could not be withdrawn.
Even if they completed all tasks, the victims could not withdraw money reflecting in their online wallets.
The masterminds operated the bank accounts sitting in UAE and had already collected a large number of bank account kits containing internet banking credentials, debit cards and cheque books with related SIM cards sourced from several middlemen who got the bank accounts opened in the names of shell entities using fake/forged documents or obtained such kits for commission.
The investigation revealed that the scamsters collected more than Rs 524 crore and used at least 175 bank accounts, most of them used only for one to 15 days before diverting the money to other accounts.
ED attaches property worth Rs 70 lakh in loan fraud
The ED has attached immovable property worth Rs 70 lakh under the provisions of the PMLA-2002 in a bank fraud case involving city-based Jasleen Enterprises. The agency began investigation on the basis of an FIR registered by CBI, Economic Offence Wing, Chennai under various Sections of IPC and Prevention of Corruption (PC) Act, 1988 against Jasleen Enterprises and others. The FIR was registered on the basis of a complaint filed by Union Bank of India for diversion of Rs 12 crore taken as loan. ED investigation revealed that Jasleen Enterprises obtained the loan in the form of cash credit facilities by submitting forged/fabricated documents to the bank and then diverted the loan amount to their sister concerns and in the personal bank accounts of the partners. This led to the loan account turning into a non-performing asset. According to the ED, Ranbeer Singh Gandhi, a partner in the firm and also the MD of Amrik Furnitures Ltd was the conspirator behind the submission of forged documents.