ED arrests four accused in Rs 100 crore cybercrime cases

New Delhi [India], October 10 (ANI): The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has arrested four accused on charges of money laundering in connection with an investigation being carried out in multiple cybercrime cases involving more than Rs 100 crore, the agency said on Friday.
Makbul Abdul Rehman Doctor, Kaashif Makbul Doctor, Mahesh Mafatlal Desai and Om Rajendra Pandya were arrested under Section 19 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002. The accused were produced before the Special PMLA court in Ahmedabad. The court has granted a five-day ED custody for the purpose of carrying out further investigation in this case.

ED Surat sub-zonal office arrested the accused following its investigation in the case initiated under PMLA , 2002 on the basis of First Inormation Report registered by Special Operation Group of Surat Police on October 15, 2024, under various Sections of Bhartiya Nyay Sanhita, 2023, against Makbul Abdul Rehman Doctor and others.

In the instant case, ED said Makbul Doctor, his sons Kaashif Makbul Doctor and Bassam Makbul Doctor, Mahesh Desai, Om Rajendra Pandya and other accomplices have defrauded the gullible people through various cyber frauds such as digital arrests, forex trading, threatening innocent individuals by sending fake notices of law enforcement agencies like Supreme Court of India and ED.
As per the investigation conducted so far, ED said, the accused are found to be involved in laundering of Proceeds of Crime (POC) of more than Rs 100 crore. (ANI)
As a part of their modus operandi for laundering the POC, ED said, the accused have opened and arranged bank accounts in the name of their employees, associates and hired persons for collection and accumulation of proceeds of crime.
Furthermore, for operating the bank accounts, the agency pointed out that the accused had obtained pre-activated SIM cards using a similar modus operandi.
During investigation under PMLA, ED further said, it has also been found that these accused persons have laundered the POC by converting the same into crypto currency (USDT) by routing the cash through various 'Hawala Operators' to evade regulatory scrutiny. (ANI)