ED Ahmedabad Files Chargesheet in ₹2.95 Crore Digital Arrest Fraud Case

Ahmedabad: The Enforcement Directorate (ED), Ahmedabad Zonal Office, has filed a prosecution complaint before the Special Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) Court in Ahmedabad in connection with a ‘digital arrest’ cyber fraud case in which two elderly victims were cheated of a total of ₹2.95 crore.

According to the ED, the investigation was initiated based on multiple FIRs registered by the cybercrime police in Ahmedabad and Mumbai. The accused allegedly posed as CBI and police officers, threatened the victims with arrest and forced them to transfer ₹1.15 crore and ₹1.80 crore, respectively, into mule bank accounts linked to M/s Quality Fruit Traders and M/s Shivam Charitable Trust.

The ED investigation revealed that the money was routed through more than 50 mule accounts and withdrawn in small amounts at various locations in India and Dubai. These accounts were also linked to 396 pending cybercrime complaints on the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C) portal, indicating their alleged use in multiple cyber fraud cases.

According to the agency, the proceeds of crime were laundered through cash withdrawals, angadiya channels and cryptocurrency transactions to make the money trail difficult to trace.

The investigation also uncovered the use of a credit card to pay premiums for insurance policies. The ED found that ₹30 lakh was routed to a credit card issued in the name of a third person but allegedly operated by another individual. The funds were subsequently used to pay premiums for insurance policies held by third parties, according to the agency.

The ED has attached a flat in Surat valued at ₹30 lakh and three fixed deposits worth ₹8 lakh belonging to the accused. The total value of the attached assets stands at ₹38 lakh.

Further investigation is underway. DeshGujarat