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NEW DELHI: ED has launched a massive nationwide drive against cybercrimes through its offices in more than 28 cities. It has identified proceeds of crime (PoC) worth over Rs 28,000 crore and attached assets of more than Rs 8,500 crore in ongoing investigations.Sources said all zonal offices have been roped in to investigate cybercrime cases where state police or other agencies have already registered FIRs for scheduled offences under PMLA. The special task force and two headquarters investigation units (HIUs) in Delhi have also been tasked with probing high-value cases. So far, ED has arrested at least 106 accused persons and suspects.
Money trail traced to cities
A two-day coordination meeting in Srinagar last month, chaired by ED director Rahul Navin, reviewed the spread of cybercrime and its impact on vulnerable sections of society. A study presented at the meeting revealed how masterminds of scams and ponzi schemes operate from abroad, siphoning funds through hawala or crypto channels. Involvement of online payment gateways is also under probe.The paper highlighted major cases: Raipur zonal office is probing the country’s largest cybercrime case against illegal betting platforms with PoC of Rs 8,000 crore; Mumbai offices are handling cases worth Rs 6,000 crore; the two Delhi HIUs, Rs 5,300 crore; and Hyderabad, Rs 2,600 crore. In the Mahadev Online Betting App case, ED traced laundering of over Rs 8,000 crore. More than 160 searches yielded Rs 19 crore in cash, valuables worth Rs 17 crore, and freezing of bank/DEMAT accounts holding Rs 2,311 crore. Thirteen arrests have been made, and extradition of the masterminds from the UAE is being pursued.The app allegedly enabled illegal betting on cricket, card games and even elections.
