Hyderabad: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has arrested four persons in connection with an international fake call centre racket that allegedly cheated US nationals of $27.39 million (around Rs 261 crore) through 927 collections between July 2025 and September 2026.
The Hyderabad Zonal Office arrested Harshil Nayanbhai Raval, Jaswant Singh, Chetan Munjal and Pranav Pithadia under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) on November 3. A Special PMLA Court in Nampally remanded them to judicial custody. Some of the accused allegedly operated from Hyderabad.
With these arrests, the number of accused arrested in the case has risen to seven. The ED had earlier arrested Vikas Nimar, Tarachand Nimar and Mohd. Irfan Ansari in July and August 2026. All three are lodged in Chanchalguda Central Prison.
According to the ED, the syndicate procured databases containing around 20 lakh US telephone numbers, along with names, addresses and ages, to target residents, particularly elderly citizens. The data was uploaded onto auto-dialler systems hosted on servers in Germany and Finland.
Callers based in India impersonated officials of US agencies, including the Drug Enforcement Administration, Department of Justice, Federal Trade Commission and Department of the Treasury. They allegedly threatened victims with arrest and seizure of assets by claiming that their bank accounts were linked to drug trafficking or money laundering.
Victims were coerced into handing over cash and gold to collection agents, sending money through courier services, transferring funds to mule bank accounts or purchasing gift cards. The ED identified 549 US nationals as victims and targets and 6,463 US telephone numbers that were called or messaged.
The syndicate operated organised call centres with employees assigned roles as dialers, bankers and closers. Investigators also traced 397 US bank accounts across at least 15 banks that were allegedly used to route the proceeds.
The money was allegedly channelled through companies and accounts in Dubai and Hong Kong, converted into cryptocurrencies, including USDT, and transferred to India through hawala and angadia networks. The proceeds were allegedly invested in properties, gold, vehicles and businesses.
The ED said forensic examination of seized digital devices revealed forged identity cards, badges, seizure notices and court orders purportedly issued by US government agencies. Investigators also found personal and banking details of American nationals, indicating identity theft and alleged bank account takeovers.
On September 15, 2026, the agency conducted searches at four premises in Patiala, Pune and Chandigarh and detected three operational call centres employing around 220 people. It seized digital devices and financial records during the searches.
Further investigation is underway to trace the proceeds of crime and identify other individuals and entities involved in the alleged network.