The Enforcement Directorate on Thursday searched five locations across Jharkhand in connection with a money laundering case involving cyber criminals – a first of its kind. Multiple teams of the investigating agency raided four people named in the first information report in Jamtara district and adjoining areas, PTI reported.
Jharkhand is said to be one of the biggest hubs of cyber crime in the country, according to a report in The Hindu. Officials said multiple groups of people operating from a remote town of the state would con people into sharing their vital banking information by making phone calls posing as bank representatives. They used to cheat people through a modus operandi known as “vishing” or “voice phishing”.
In August, the agency registered Enforcement Case Information Report against Pradeep Kumar Mondal, Snatosh Yadav, Yugal Mondal, and their associates for allegedly conning numerous people over the last few years. The ECIRs have been registered under relevant sections of the Information Technology Act and the Indian Penal Code.
“It is alleged that these people and their associates, sitting in the remote town of Jamtara, siphoned off huge amount of money of bank account holders and have amassed assets worth about Rs 1 crore each,” an unidentified senior official told PTI earlier. “The state police has registered multiple FIRs against them. The ED has now taken over cases under the PMLA in order to choke finances and freeze tainted assets of these conmen.”
One of the accused has three houses worth over Rs 85 lakh apart from an SUV and three bikes, The Hindu reported last month. Yadav allegedly obtained illegal wealth of over Rs 50 lakh over the last five years.
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