ED raids in NCR, Uttarakhand in global cyber fraud case

The Enforcement Directorate on Wednesday conducted searches at multiple premises in the national capital region and Uttarakhand as part of a money laundering probe linked to a global cyber fraud ring in which Indian and foreign nationals were duped of funds worth crores of rupees, official sources said.

The raids are being conducted under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) and are covering at least 11 premises located in Delhi, Noida, Gurugram and Dehradun, the sources said.

Fraudsters based in these cities were "cheating" Indian and foreign nationals by impersonating as police or investigating agency officers and they "extorted" money by threatening them with consequences of arrest, they said.

The fraudsters also impersonated as Microsoft and Amazon technical support service agents to "cheat" the victims.

The agency found that the monetary assets of the victims were converted into crypto currencies and transferred to the accused.

The accused generated about Rs 260 crore in the form of Bitcoins in multiple crypto-wallets, which were further liquidated into cash through conversion into USDTs through multiple hawala operators and individuals based in the UAE, according to agency sources.

The money laundering case stems from FIRs registered by the CBI and the Delhi Police.