Gujarat police arrest a woman allegedly involved in trafficking job aspirants to Myanmar and Thailand for cyber slavery. The accused lured people with promises of high-paying jobs and forced them to work for international cyber crime syndicates.
The sources said that Chaitnaya Baghel was arrested under section 19 of the anti-money laundering as he was allegedly not cooperating during the searches that came about following receipt of fresh evidence in the case.
'Big Week For #USIndia Law Enforcement Collaboration'
A retired banker in Delhi lost his entire life savings, amounting to Rs 23 crore, to cyber fraudsters who posed as ED and CBI officers. The victim was kept under 'digital arrest' for over a month and forced to transfer funds under duress.
What is digital house arrest? It is a tactic cybercriminals use to confine victims to their homes and scam them, explains Tamal Bandyopadhyay.
The Enforcement Directorate said on Monday that it had conducted search operations at four locations in Mumbai and Delhi as part of its money laundering investigation into an alleged Rs 4,500 crore (Rs 45 billion) fraud by Pancard Clubs Limited and others, in which more than 5 million investors have been duped.
The number of cyberfraud cases has skyrocketed from 2,677 in 1999-2000 to 29,082 in FY24 -- more than a 10-fold increase. The RBI pegs digital payment frauds at Rs 1,457 crore in FY24, up more than five times in a year. It's not just the number of frauds. What's alarming is the growing sophistication of the fraudsters, exposing the vulnerabilities within the financial system, observes Tamal Bandyopadhyay.
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) have intensified their investigations against Gaurav Mehta, a suspect in a Bitcoin Ponzi scam, following allegations that politicians may have been involved in using cryptocurrency to influence Maharashtra assembly polls. The ED searched Mehta's residence in Raipur and seized computers and digital devices. The CBI summoned him to appear before investigators. The ED is probing Mehta's potential links to politicians, politically exposed persons, and bureaucrats as part of its money laundering probe. The allegations came after BJP released purported voice notes suggesting that Congress and NCP leaders were attempting to use cryptocurrency for election campaigning. Both parties denied the claims, calling the voice notes fake.
The senior IPS officer said that 45 percent of cyber financial frauds taking place in the country are originating from the South East Asia.
A Delhi court on Monday denied interim bail to Bharat Rashtra Samiti leader K Kavitha, arrested in a money laundering case linked to the alleged Delhi excise policy scam, saying prima facie she not only destroyed evidence but was also instrumental in influencing witnesses and there is 'every likelihood' of her continuing to do so in case the relief is granted.
Fraudsters in Himachal Pradesh minted a series of a cryptocoins -- two of which were KRO and DGT -- to cheat thousands of investors of more than Rs 200 crore over a period of five years, beginning in 2018 -- the year the crypto reached fever pitch.
"The investigation has revealed that Singh had assured to get changes through Manish Sisodia in the then proposed Excise Policy of 2020-21 to increase the brand registration criterion for IMFL brands at the behest of Amit Arora and Dinesh Arora.
'The TMC can't go on forever taking advantage of the people's fright of the BJP.'
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal 'directly used' part of the alleged Rs 100 crore generated from the 'kickbacks' of the Delhi excise policy 'scam' by staying in a luxury hotel in Goa, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) has claimed in its charge sheet filed against the Aam Aadmi Party supremo.
The Supreme Court of India expressed concern over the appointment of DMK leader V Senthil Balaji as a minister in the Tamil Nadu government despite pending money laundering cases against him. The court questioned the state government's decision, stating it is "terribly wrong" to appoint a person as a minister while facing legal proceedings. The matter has been adjourned to January 15, 2025.
"Despite two years of probe, the ED has not been able to find even one paisa in evidence. They raided chief minister's residence but got just Rs 73,000," she said.
Special Judge Kaveri Baweja at the Rouse Avenue court said Kejriwal will be produced before the court on March 28 at 2 pm.
The Enforcement Directorate on Friday claimed before a Delhi court that Aam Aadmi Party leader and former deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia was involved in "large scale destruction of digital evidence to impede investigation" into the Delhi excise policy case and had changed and destroyed 14 phones.
Kejriwal was produced in the court by the CBI after the end of his three-day custodial interrogation.
With just 10 detectives under his leadership and in about three weeks' time, Senior Superintendent of Police of Uttar Pradesh's Special Task Force Amit Pathak cracked an online digital racket that swindled 600,000 people and is now worth Rs 3,700 crore and counting.
A court in New Delhi on Thursday extended the Enforcement Directorate custody of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal till April 1, saying the agency provided 'sufficient reasons', such as the need for him to be confronted with material collected and statements recorded, to permit his further custodial interrogation.
In addition to educating Delhiites and holding a joint awareness campaign against cyber frauds, Truecaller will also display official numbers of the Delhi police representatives on the app's government directory services.
Delhi ministers Manish Sisodia and Satyendar Jain on Tuesday resigned from the Cabinet, amid corruption allegations against them.
The court's observation came while granting bail to a person accused of running call centres in the country and defrauding United States citizens to the tune of about $20 million.
The ED said its investigation also revealed that from 2019 to 2022, the sale of 'unaccounted illicit' liquor was almost 30-40 per cent of the total liquor sale in the state.
AAP leader Vijay Nair, arrested in connection with alleged irregularities in the Delhi excise policy case, received Rs 100 crore in 'kickbacks' from the 'south group' controlled by some businessmen and politicians, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) has informed a local court.
Key documents related to the seven-year-old scam go missing from medical college in Gwalior.
Prime accused in the solar panel scam, Saritha S Nair, on Friday submitted before a commission what she claimed was more documentary proof, including her 'videos' with four powerful leaders, which also comprised two ministers.
The now-scrapped Delhi Excise Policy 2021-22 was brought in by the Aam Aadmi Party leadership, specifically former excise minister Manish Sisodia, to 'continuously generate and channel illegal funds' to themselves, the Enforcement Directorate said in its latest chargesheet in this money laundering case.
The Central Bureau of Investigation has named 10 non-government organisations, including the US-based Omidyar, as accused in the case of allegedly conspiring to illegally facilitate the registration and renewal of Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act licences.
The federal probe agency also made a fresh arrest in this case as it took into custody Hyderabad-based liquor businessman Arun Ramchandra Pillai, they said.
A drunken conversation tipped off Thane Crime Branch detectives to the unprecedented scam targeting unsuspecting Americans from call centres in Thane.
Pandey is living in New Delhi along with his family.
Officials said the agency may ask the chief minister about the policy formulation process especially of the "untraceable" file which was earlier slated to be put before the Council of Ministers.
Yadav was named in an FIR registered on Tuesday by Special Task Force probing the multi-crore Madhya Pradesh Professional Examination Board or Vyapam scam under various sections of IPC, including 420 for cheating.
This is one of the major corporate frauds in the country.
From June 1 to October 4, the call centre scam mastermind collected Rs 12 crore from just one call centre.
If raters get away by moving from AAA to D overnight after companies default, as happened with DHFL, YES Bank, RCom, and IL&FS, it shows a complete breakdown in the rating system. It calls for exemplary punishment, not kid glove treatment, says Debashis Basu.
The hounding of Rhea Chakraborty in the Sushant Singh Rajput case is a drug that is being carefully pumped into India's veins to make it comfortably numb as it is wracked by economic ruin and disease, notes Sumit Bhattacharya.
The Enforcement Directorate on Sunday conducted searches in various Uttar Pradesh cities after it registered a money laundering case to probe the alleged Rs 3,700 ponzi scam case perpetrated by seeking fake social media 'likes' from lakhs of gullible investors by a Noida based firm.