ED Concludes Searches in Fake Call-Centre Case
ED completes two-day searches in Chandigarh, Patiala and Pune, seizing phones and laptops in a money-laundering probe targeting US citizens
The Enforcement Directorate on Wednesday concluded two days of searches in Chandigarh, Punjab and Maharashtra in connection with a money-laundering investigation into a “fake” call centre that allegedly duped several US citizens.
Agency officials said 66 mobile phones, 13 laptops, hard disks and cash were seized from four premises in Chandigarh, Patiala and Pune. The searches were conducted under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act.
The central financial investigation agency said it was examining “the calling campaigns, scripts, dialler and VoIP-based systems, victim-related data, payment channels, persons managing and controlling the operations, as well as the flow of funds generated through the alleged activities of the call centres.”
Officials said the “fake” call centres mainly targeted people in the United States after sending them bulk spam emails.