Jalandhar, Jan 31 (IANS) Acting against cyber fraudsters cheating US nationals through illegal call centres, the ED conducted searches at nine locations across Punjab, Haryana and Delhi and seized digital devices, Rs 34 lakh cash and incriminating records, an official said on Saturday.

The Enforcement Directorate (ED), Jalandhar Zonal Office, conducted the search operations on Thursday under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002, in connection with a money laundering investigation against the accused, the ED said in a statement.

The ED investigation revealed that the accused cheated US victims in the guise of technical support call centre service and during the process they stole crucial information of victims and threatened them about statutory action by IRS (Internal Revenue Service, US).

The accused, subsequently, induced them to transfer their money into crypto accounts which were siphoned from foreign victims’ accounts to cryptocurrency wallets and subsequently transferred the Proceeds of Crime for personal gains into shell entities, Bliss Infraproperties LLP and Bliss Infraventures LLP.

The federal agency’s investigation revealed that illegal call centre, Digikaps – the Future of Digital, had 36 employees including Jiger Ahmed, Yash Khurana, Inderjeet Singh Bhali, and Nikhil Sharma under the supervision of Joney, Dakshay Sethi and Gaurav Verma, the ED said.

The accused were operating a network of transnational financial crime by running illegal call centres and committing cyber fraud by targeting foreign citizens online. The search operations covered residential premises of Joney, Dakshay Sethi, Gaurav Verma and others.

The ED initiated investigation on the basis of FIR registered by CBI, based on information shared by Federal Bureau of Investigation, US, under various Sections of BNS 2023 against the accused for defrauding the US citizens of millions of dollars.

The investigation revealed diversion of Proceeds of Crime into real estate by the accused persons.

The search operation on Thursday resulted in the recovery of various digital devices, seizure of Rs 34 lakh of unaccounted cash and incriminating records linking the accused persons to high value investments and acquisition of immovable properties in India and abroad, said the statement.

–IANS

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