ED arrests two CAs, crypto trader in Rs 640-cr cyber fraud case

Two chartered accountants and a cryptocurrency trader have been arrested here in a money laundering investigation linked to a cyber fraud case of Rs 640 crore, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) said on Wednesday.

A fourth person, the brother of another "absconding" CA whose farmhouse was raided on November 28 by the federal agency as part of this probe, has been arrested by the police for "attacking" the ED search party in the Bijwasan area of southwest Delhi that day.

The ED had conducted searches at 13 premises in Delhi, Gurugram, Jodhpur, Jhunjhunu, Hyderabad, Pune and Kolkata between November 28 and 30 and seized Rs 47 lakh "unexplained" cash and Rs 1.3 crore worth of cryptocurrencies.

The money laundering probe stems from two FIRs filed by the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of the Delhi Police that were registered to probe charges of cyber fraud to the tune of Rs 640 crore generated through betting, gambling, part-time jobs and phishing scams, the agency said in a statement.

The money of gullible people was "siphoned off" by layering funds cheated from them through more than 5,000 "mule" Indian bank accounts and subsequently uploaded on PYYPL, a UAE-based payment platform, the ED said.

Part of the "cyber fraud money" was withdrawn in cash in Dubai through debit and credit cards issued by various Indian banks, it said.     According to the probe agency, the alleged scam was being run through a "nexus" of certain CAs, company secretaries and crypto traders who worked in tandem to launder the proceeds of crime.

Two CAs — Ajay Yadav and Vipin Yadav — and cryptocurrency trader Jitendra Kaswan were arrested during the searches, the ED said. "A large-scale money-laundering racket operated with the assistance of handlers sitting abroad through a closely held chat group on instant messaging apps. Instructions regarding opening of mule accounts, cash circulation and purchase of crypto are provided on this group account by the handlers," the probe found.

More than 2,000 documents, as per the agency, showing debit and credit transactions in hundreds of bank accounts and purchase of cryptocurrencies have been recovered and are being analysed. A fourth person has been arrested by the Delhi Police as part of this investigation.

Radhe Shyam Sharma, brother of the "main accused" CA Ashok Kumar Sharma, was taken into custody by the police from a farmhouse in Delhi for "attacking and restricting with force" the ED team from entering the premises.

Some "incriminating" documents, cheque books, ATM cards, PAN cards, digital signatures and Trust secret phrases used to open secret crypto wallets have also been seized, the ED said.