Delhi Man Arrested in Rs 900 Crore Money Laundering Case Linked to Chinese Nationals

New Delhi, Jul 4 (PTI) - A significant development has emerged in a money laundering case with the arrest of a Delhi-based individual linked to a fraudulent investment app scheme worth over Rs 900 crore. This operation was reportedly directed by some Chinese nationals, as disclosed by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Friday.

Rohit Vij was apprehended on June 30 following a series of raids conducted at his residence in the national capital, the agency confirmed in a detailed statement.

The ED's investigation, launched under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), is an extension of a 2022 FIR lodged by the cybercrime unit of Hyderabad police. The complaint accused certain Chinese operatives, collaborating with Indian associates, of duping investors through an app named 'LOXAM', promising unrealistically high investment returns, while falsely claiming affiliation with a reputable French multinational corporation of the same name.

The inquiry unearthed that the illegal funds were funneled into the bank account of a shell company, Xindai Technologies Pvt. Ltd., ostensibly owned by an Indian but acting on the directions of a Chinese national identified as Jack.

The ED reports that this Chinese individual acquired online banking access to the associated bank account, maneuvering the funds through 38 different mule accounts. Subsequently, these funds were converted into foreign currencies. Vij, alongside his associates, facilitated this currency conversion via shell money changer firms like Ranjan Money Corp. Pvt. Ltd. and KDS Forex Pvt. Ltd., based in Delhi.

It is alleged that Vij and his team converted these illicit funds into foreign currencies such as USD and Dirham, supplying them to the Chinese perpetrators through clandestine 'hawala' networks.

An estimated Rs 171.47 crore was washed through Xindai Technologies Pvt. Ltd. and later transformed into foreign exchange via the money changer entities, as alleged by the ED.

"The scrutiny of bank accounts tied to Ranjan Money Corp. and KDS Forex Pvt. Ltd. revealed that within seven months, these firms, under Vij's direction, converted Rs 903 crore of illicit funds linked to the Chinese operatives and their accomplices," the statement concluded.

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