Ahmedabad: The Directorate of Enforcement (ED), Ahmedabad Zonal Office, on Monday announced that it has provisionally attached ₹35.80 crore lying in more than 300 bank accounts linked to proceeds of crime generated through betting, gambling, and other illegal activities. The action was taken under a Provisional Attachment Order (PAO) dated October 29, 2025, in a case against Jitender Tejabhai Hiragar and others.

According to the ED, the investigation began with the scrutiny of 448 “primary” bank accounts that were opened using forged documents of unsuspecting individuals. Following the money trail, over 995 additional bank accounts in the first layer—showing transactions exceeding ₹1,000 crore—were examined.

The probe was initiated on the basis of an FIR registered by the Ahmedabad City Police Crime Branch under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002, against Hiragar and others.

ED investigations revealed that these bank accounts, opened using forged documents of unsuspecting individuals, were handed over to members of a well-organized racket to facilitate high-volume banking transactions linked to betting, gambling, and other related illegal activities. These dummy bank accounts were used to cheat individuals through online betting and other fraudulent activities.

The agency has traced and attached balances amounting to ₹35.80 crore held in more than 300 such bank accounts across different banks that were used for these illicit activities. Further investigation is underway. DeshGujarat