The Enforcement Directorate (ED) informed on Friday that it has apprehended an individual at Jaipur airport, wanted in connection with a money laundering case associated with the purported defrauding of US citizens through fraudulent loan call centers operating from India. The arrested individual, Rafiq Khan, was detained under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) earlier this week, as reported by news agency PTI.
According to the federal agency, Khan, who had been on the run, was intercepted at Jaipur airport while attempting to flee to Sharjah in the UAE. The ED stated that Khan was one of the collaborators involved in operating fake call centers that scammed US citizens by offering loans at lower interest rates, PTI's report stated.
Earlier in the investigation, the ED had arrested Shahanawaz Ahmed Jeelani, Vipin Kumar Sharma, and Viraj Singh Kuntal in connection with this case.
These individuals are currently in judicial custody, and a charge sheet under the PMLA was filed against them in August 2023, the probe agency confirmed.
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Virtual Call Centers And Bank Accounts Were Operated From India: ED
The Enforcement Directorate's inquiry originated from multiple FIRs filed by the Rajasthan Police's Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) and the Special Operations Group (SOG). As per the agency, "There was a well-planned conspiracy by the accused to defraud foreign nationals by opening virtual call centers and bank accounts in the USA which were being operated from Jaipur, Mohali, Mathura and some other parts of India." "The proceeds of crime generated had been routed through various Indian and foreign bank accounts opened in the name of accused persons and shell companies registered by them," the agency stated, PTI reported.
It further added that the proceeds of crime developed in this case were "ultimately invested in properties to project them as genuine and untainted."