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The Enforcement Directorate (ED) last week launched a money laundering probe into a case in which Nashik-based call centres allegedly duped foreign nationals. The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has registered multiple First Information Reports (FIRs) and made several arrests in connection with fake call centres in the past few months. It is suspected that the call centres were receiving patronage from some senior police officers in the region.
“The ED will be probing how the money collected through these call centres was routed through various bank accounts, cryptocurrency exchanges and wallets,” an officer said. It is suspected that several shell companies were used to send the money to some government officers who were helping the fraudsters.
Two call centres in Nashik were raided in connection with the CBI probe, and investigators found that over 60 people had called up foreign nationals based in the United Kingdom, United States and Canada, and duped them under various methods, including impersonating insurance agents and government authorities.
The centres used Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP), spoofed numbers and fake documents to dupe victims into sharing credit/debit card details and making payments for non-existent insurance policies. The investigation was launched after representatives from these countries alerted the Indian government.
On Wednesday, a CBI official said, “The case is being investigated and depending upon what evidence comes to light, the future course of action will be decided. We will soon be filing chargesheets in the matter.”
During the course of the CBI probe, it came to light that some of the accused who were running the call centres were initially booked on lighter sections by senior officers in exchange for monthly payments. As these officers were then transferred to other areas, they allegedly took the fraudsters along and provided them with the necessary infrastructure to continue operating the call centres.
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