Hyderabad: The Enforcement Directorate started its own investigation into the “investment fraud” case busted by the Hyderabad city police cybercrime wing two days ago. Ten persons including a China national and a Taiwan national were arrested by the Hyderabad police on Wednesday.
CV Anand, Hyderabad commissioner of police, stated China nationals were the masterminds of the scam estimated, that he said may run into thousands of crores rupees. Officially, the police pegged the scam at Rs. 903 crore based on the transactions recorded at two foreign exchange firms Ranjan Money Corp and KDS Forex Private Limited operated by one of the arrested persons Navneet Kaushik.
Official sources informed the ED that officials met the Hyderabad police officers of Cyber-crime wing and sought details about the fraud. The agency will do its own preliminary investigation and because money laundering is suspected a full-fledged investigation will be taken up.
The modus operandi adopted by the fraudsters was to use authorized money changers to convert illegally gathered funds through investment apps, and transfer them into dollars and then send them abroad.
A month-long investigation by specialized teams revealed a complex chain of transactions and violations of law. People were offered huge amounts for opening accounts in banks and providing the details to a tightly knit network of fraudsters who send the bank account details and SIM cards linked to the bank accounts to Dubai and Cambodia.
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