Patiala: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has arrested four people from Patiala in connection with an alleged international call centre fraud racket that targeted US citizens and is suspected to have generated proceeds of crime worth Rs 261 crore.
The accused — Harshil Nayanbhai Raval, Jaswant Singh, Chetan Munjal and Pranav Pithadia — were arrested from two locations in Patiala on Wednesday. They were subsequently taken to Hyderabad after the agency secured their transit remand from a local court.
According to the ED, the racket allegedly operated fraudulent call centres in Patiala, Chandigarh, Mohali and Hyderabad. Investigators suspect that the accused shifted their operations to Patiala after police raids on a call centre in Madhapur, a technology hub in Hyderabad.
ED Identifies 549 US Victims, Many Of Them Elderly
The agency said investigators have identified 549 victims in the case, many of whom were born in the 1940s. The alleged network reportedly made calls or sent messages to 6,463 US telephone numbers.
The ED’s investigation found that the accused allegedly purchased around two million US telephone numbers, along with personal details such as names, addresses and ages. The data was reportedly uploaded onto auto-diallers hosted on servers in Germany and Finland.
The agency also conducted forensic examinations of 79 digital devices and recovered call centre chats, ledgers, call data, victim details and cryptocurrency wallets.
Rs 261 Crore In Alleged Proceeds Of Crime
According to the ED, the gang allegedly routed the proceeds of the fraud into real estate, gold, vehicles and various businesses. The estimated proceeds of crime stand at Rs 261 crore, with a portion allegedly invested in properties on the outskirts of Chandigarh.
During searches conducted on September 15 under Section 17 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), officials searched four premises in Patiala, Pune and Chandigarh.
The searches led to the detection of two call centres in Patiala and one in Pune, where around 220 people were reportedly working. Investigators also seized forged government documents and fake identity cards from Patiala.
Seven Arrested So Far In The Case
The latest arrests take the total number of accused arrested in the case to seven.
The ED had earlier arrested Vikas Nimar on July 27, Tarachand Nimar on August 5 and Imran Asgari on October 10.
The four latest arrests were made under Section 19(1) of the PMLA, 2002. The agency is continuing its investigation into the alleged fraud network and the laundering of its proceeds.
