PATNA – In a major breakthrough, the Directorate of Enforcement (ED) conducted a search operation in Patna on December 19, 2023. Subsequently, consequential searches were carried out at three locations in Kolkata and one in Kharagpur, West Bengal, on December 27, 2023.
The operation led to the arrest of three individuals—Nitesh Kumar in Patna on December 20, and Sagar Yadav and Santosh Kumar in Kolkata on December 28. The arrests are connected to a case of cyber fraud and cheating involving an Irish national.
The ED initiated the investigation based on information and a complaint of cyber fraud committed against an Irish national. The victim reported being defrauded of 950 Euros (Rs. 84,941.40/-) through cyber fraud activities. Subsequent investigation by the ED unveiled that Nitesh Kumar, a native of Patna, Bihar, cheated the Irish national and transferred the ill-gotten gains to his bank account in India as RDA remittance. Nitesh Kumar was produced before the Hon’ble Special Court (PMLA), Patna, Bihar, on December 20, 2023, and subsequently sent to judicial custody. Later, he was remanded to ED custody for six days.
Further revelations from the investigation indicated that a group comprising 8 to 10 individuals was consistently involved in cheating foreign nationals, primarily Irish people. The group operated by receiving proceeds of crime in various Indian bank accounts through rewire accounts. This illicit operation functioned in a call center pattern in Kharagpur, West Bengal.
Based on intelligence and specific inputs, key members of the group and their locations were identified. Searches were carried out at three locations in Kolkata and one in Kharagpur, West Bengal, on December 27, 2023. Two crucial members of the group, namely Sagar Yadav and Santosh Kumar, instrumental in the offense of money laundering, were arrested on December 28, 2023, in Kolkata. The searches also resulted in the recovery of incriminating details and records, both physical and digital, along with a significant cash amounting to Rs. 1.85 Crore.
The materials and cash discovered during the search operation have been seized, and the remaining balance of Rs. 3.67 Crore in various bank accounts linked to the money laundering offense has been frozen.
