ED sends letters rogatory abroad, seeks info on foreign operatives

New Delhi: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has sought relevant information by sending letters rogatory (LRs) to foreign shores, including the UAE, to identify foreign players allegedly involved in a wide range of “sophisticated transnational cyber fraud network” involving mule bank accounts and shell assets, people in the know told ET.

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The case concerns a large-scale transnational cyber fraud and money laundering organization operating through an organized financial and technological infrastructure spanning multiple jurisdictions. The people cited above said that ED’s investigation revealed that: “Indian victims were defrauded through fraudulent investment schemes, part-time job scams, role-based fraud, gaming and betting platforms, instant loan apps and other cyber-enabled frauds, after which the proceeds of crime were systematically laundered through mule bank accounts, front and conduit entities, overseas fintech platforms, cash withdrawals in Dubai, hawala channels and cryptocurrency transactions, and then proceeded to private and unhosted India-controlled transferred to digital wallets foreign beneficiaries”. ED’s investigation resulted in “identification of 216 mule bank accounts, reconstruction of money laundering involving approximately ₹ 303.24 crore in identified proceeds of crime, detection of fresh banking loans amounting to approximately ₹ 571.65 crore, analysis of over 10,000 PYYPL-linked bank accounts, seizure of ₹ 47 lakh in cash.”

Moreover, ED has attached bank balances totaling ₹8,69,20,157 and arrested ten accused and filed two prosecution complaints (equivalent to charge sheet) against 45 accused persons/entities. The last prosecutor’s complaint was made by the emergency service two months ago. Sources said one of the key technological advances made during the investigation was “the detection of a sophisticated mechanism adopted by the foreign cyber fraud syndicate to remotely operate Indian mule bank accounts without physical possession of registered SIM cards or mobile devices.”
ED’s investigation revealed that “after purchase of mule accounts, banking information was shared through Telegram and other encrypted communication platforms, private Zoho email accounts and SMS forwarding apps were configured on mobile phones linked to bank accounts,” a senior official said on condition of anonymity. This, he explained, enables real-time delivery of banking SMS alerts, OTPs and transaction authentication messages to overseas operators, allowing them to remotely verify transactions, monitor incoming credits and manage accounts from outside India. “The investigation identified not only isolated instances of cyber-enabled fraud, but also the existence of a complex and coordinated financial infrastructure designed for the systematic receipt, layering, concealment and cross-border movement of criminal proceeds,” he added.
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The case in question is the same one that brought India’s Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU-IND) international recognition for its efforts to combat financial crimes. ED had in March 2024 initiated a probe into the transnational cyber fraud and cryptocurrency money laundering syndicate by registering an ECIR under PMLA, based on two FIRs registered by CBI in connection with large-scale cyber-enabled fraud against Indian citizens. The federal agency had also received actionable financial intelligence from FIU-IND regarding UAE-based fintech platform PYYPL. The people mentioned above added that the Financial Intelligence Unit has shared multiple Operational Analysis Reports stating that around 641 million rupees (approximately ₹ 641 crore) were transferred through PYYPL during September-November 2023 using India-issued debit cards. “The investigation achieved significant breakthroughs thanks to strong international collaboration that enabled the diversion of approximately 641 billion Indian rupees through the UAE-based PYYPL platform and approximately 900.42 billion Indian rupees through 17 IndusInd Bank accounts, leading to the conversion of approximately 36.784 million USDT through syndicate-controlled entities,” the people cited above said. he added.