Lakshay Vij Remanded to 5-Day ED Custody in $4 Lakh Money Laundering Case

Rouse Avenue Court has remanded Lakshay Vij to five days of ED custody in a money laundering case involving $4 lakh. Vij is accused of cheating a US woman and laundering the money. ED sought seven days of custody, claiming more investigation is needed to unveil the money trail.

Rouse Avenue Court on Tuesday remanded Lakshay Vij to five days of Enforcement Directorate (ED) custody in a money laundering case linked to cheating a US citizen woman of $4 lakh. The fraudulent funds were laundered through various bank accounts of bogus entities.

Special Judge Gaurav Rao granted the ED's request to hold Vij until July 28. Although the ED sought seven days of custody for Vij, who was arrested on Monday, the court ruled for five days.

'Considering the nature of allegations and detailed submissions made in the application, including statements and WhatsApp messages, it is essential to unearth the money trail and ascertain the role of others involved,' stated the court. Advocate Nitesh Rana opposed the custody, arguing the arrest was unlawful.

Special Public Prosecutor Simon Benjamin, representing the ED, pushed for seven days of custody. The ED stated the case stemmed from a CBI investigation into Praful Gupta and others for conspiracy and cheating against a US citizen.

The victim's laptop was hacked, and she was misled by a person posing as a Microsoft employee into transferring $4 lakh to a cryptocurrency account. She later found the account empty, and the funds had been converted into cryptocurrency and transferred to various digital wallets.

Lisa Roth, the victim, filed a complaint, leading to a CBI FIR against Prafful Gupta, Sarita Gupta, and other suspects for the alleged offence.

(With inputs from agencies.)