A team of the Enforcement Directorate (ED) was attacked and one of their officials suffered injuries on Thursday morning after it arrived at a farmhouse as part of its investigation into a cyber fraud-linked money laundering case related to the UAE-based Pyypl payment aggregator.  An FIR has been registered, and authorities are now working to track down the attackers.

According to the officials, the incident took place at a farmhouse that was raided by ED team led by Suraj Yadav in the Bijwasan area which falls under the Kapashera police station in southwest Delhi. The official who suffered injuries in the attack was identified as an additional director of ED.

According to police, the farmhouse belonged to a man named Ashok Kumar, a Chartered Accountant (CA). A picture of a broken chair, kept in the farmhouse, was shared by the ED on X. Shortly after the incident, the ED said in a statement that the searches were part of a money laundering investigation against “organised” cyber crimes like Phishing, QR code cheating and part-time job fraud leading to duping of many people. The agency said it analysed these cases with the help of the Indian cyber crime coordination centre (I4C) and the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU). “It was found that an organised network of CAs and crypto traders was at work.

Around 15,000 mule accounts were used to layer proceeds of cyber crimes. Subsequently, debit and credit cards were obtained which were used to top up virtual accounts on Pyypl and funds were layered to buy crypto-currency,” the ED said.

It said “incriminating” material including multiple PAN cards, bank cheque books, passbooks, pen drives, credit and debit cards, seals and CPUs have been seized.  “At one premises at Bijwasan, suspect Ashok Sharma and his brother assaulted an ED officer and managed to escape after causing hurt. An FIR is being filed. Searches are on,” it said.

Sources said that the Chartered Accountant had a connection with a cyber app fraud case and the network was being run by some Chartered Accountants (CAs).  The accused fled the scene in the ensuing chaos.  After the attack, local police were called to the spot immediately to control the situation and ensure the safety of the officials.

Commenting on the incident, the Delhi Police in its statement said an information was received regarding manhandling an ED team at Bijwasan area. Kapashera Station House Officer (SHO) along with other staff reached the spot where the raid was being carried out. Two lady officers of the CRPF were also present in the raiding team of the ED.

According to the statement, Ashok Kumar Sharma, who is a chartered accountant (CA) by profession, owns the farm house. “Yash, who is a relative of Sharma, has been apprehended in connection with the attack and is being further interrogated,” police in the statement said. It has been alleged that Sharma and Yash were allegedly involved in an attack on the ED team. Further investigations are on.

Sources said the modus operandi involved layering funds through these accounts. Debit and credit cards linked to these accounts were used to transfer money to virtual accounts hosted by Pyypl, a UAE-based payment aggregator. The funds were then used to purchase cryptocurrency.

According to ED, thousands of cyber crimes like phishing scams, QR code cheating and part-time job scams have been reported across the country. With the help of i4C and the Financial Intelligence Unit - India (FIU-IND), thousands of reported crime instances were analysed in totality. It was found that the illegitimate money was layered into 15,000 mule accounts, they added. Debit and credit cards were obtained and money was remitted to top-up virtual accounts on Pyypl using these cards, ED sources said, adding that funds were used from Pyypl to buy cryptocurrency.

The cyber scams have been turning into giant threats to the country who lost a humongous sum amounting to around Rs 11,333 crore to cyber fraudsters in the first nine months of 2024. According to a recent report, stock trading frauds topped the list of scams in terms of monetary loss, followed by investment frauds. The impact can be understood with the fact that the investment fraud itself endured a loss of Rs 3,216 crore prompting over one lakh victims to file their complaints. As per the data from the Citizen Financial Cyber Fraud Reporting and Management System (CFCFRMS), nearly 12 lakh cyber scam complaints were received this year, with a majority of them (45 per cent) coming from Cambodia, Myanmar, and Laos.

The CFCFRMS has reportedly received 30.05 lakh complaints since 2021, which amount to losses of Rs 27,914 crore. Of these 30 lakh complaints, 11,31,221 were from 2023, 5,14,741 from 2022, and 1,35,242 from 2021.