In a landmark case, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) filed the country’s first charge sheet related to a “digital arrest” scam in Bengaluru on October 10, targeting eight individuals accused of defrauding victims of ₹159 crore nationwide. The accused, including Charan Raj C, Kiran S.K, Shashi Kumar M, Sachin M, Tamilarasan, Prakash R, Ajith R, and Aravindan, face charges in a Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) court.
The individuals allegedly engaged in two schemes. The first, called “pig butchering,” involved promising high returns on IPO allocations and stock market investments, luring victims into fraudulent financial schemes. The second involved threats under the guise of “digital arrests” to extort money from people. According to the charge sheet, they used hundreds of SIM cards, WhatsApp groups, and fake bank accounts registered under shell companies in coworking spaces to carry out their operations.
The ED reported that they laundered funds into cryptocurrency and moved it overseas with the assistance of entities in countries like Hong Kong and Thailand. Fake companies were registered in multiple states, including Tamil Nadu and Karnataka, with prominent ones such as Cyber Forest Technology Pvt Ltd and Dreamnov Technologies Pvt Ltd allegedly involved in the scheme. This crackdown follows warnings issued by Prime Minister Narendra Modi against digital frauds, as highlighted in his “Mann Ki Baat” broadcast.
