ED arrests four more in Rs 261-crore US fake call centre scam; total arrests reach seven

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has arrested four more accused in connection with an international fake call centre scam targeting US nationals, taking the total number of arrests in the money laundering case to seven, the agency said on Wednesday.

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has arrested four more accused in connection with an international fake call centre scam targeting US nationals, taking the total number of arrests in the money laundering case to seven, the agency said on Wednesday. The four accused -- Harshil Nayanbhai Raval, Jaswant Singh, Chetan Munjal and Pranav Pithadia -- were arrested on November 3 under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002. They were produced before the Special Court (PMLA) at Nampally in Hyderabad, which remanded all four to judicial custody.

The ED said its investigation has revealed that the syndicate allegedly collected around US$27.39 million (approximately Rs 261 crore) from victims through 927 approved transactions between July 2025 and September 2026. The collections were allegedly made through gold, cash pick-ups, courier parcels, bank transfers, Bitcoin and gift cards.

Earlier, the ED had arrested Vikas Nimar on July 27, Tarachand Nimar on August 5 and Mohd Irfan Ansari on August 10 in the same case. All three are currently lodged in Central Prison, Chanchalguda, Hyderabad. The agency had conducted searches at four premises in Patiala, Pune and Chandigarh on September 15, during which three operational fake call centres -- two in Patiala and one in Pune -- were detected. Around 220 people were found working at these centres at the time of the searches.

During the searches, digital devices, cash and documents were seized. The forensic examination of 79 devices, including 65 mobile phones, 13 laptops and computers and one data storage disk, revealed chats, financial ledgers, calling data, victim records and cryptocurrency wallets allegedly linked to the syndicate. According to the ED, the analysis of seized digital evidence has so far identified 549 US nationals as victims and targets of the syndicate. The seized mobile phones also contained 6,463 US telephone numbers that were called or messaged by the accused.

The investigation revealed that the syndicate operated organised calling floors in India, where employees worked as dialers, bankers and closers. They allegedly contacted US nationals on the pretext of fraudulent purchases or suspicious charges on their accounts and subsequently threatened them by impersonating officials of US agencies, including the Drug Enforcement Administration, Department of Justice, Federal Trade Commission and Department of the Treasury. The callers allegedly used forged identity cards, badges, official letters and court documents to intimidate victims and extort money by threatening legal action.

The victims, many of whom were elderly US residents, were allegedly persuaded to hand over cash and gold to pick-up persons, send cash parcels through courier services, transfer money to US bank accounts of money mules or purchase gift cards. The proceeds of crime were subsequently converted into Indian currency through cryptocurrency and hawala channels and routed through accounts in Dubai and other countries, including Hong Kong.

The ED said it seized digital devices containing details of 397 US bank accounts across at least 15 banks, including Wells Fargo, Bank of America, Thread Bank, Column N.A. and Lead Bank. These accounts allegedly belonged to recruited money mules, victims whose bank accounts had been taken over, or persons whose identities had been stolen or synthetically created.

The devices also contained Social Security Numbers of 140 US nationals, along with their dates of birth, addresses, bank details and photographs of US driver's licences. The information was allegedly used to profile victims, collect cash parcels and facilitate financial transactions. ED investigators also recovered forged US government documents, including notices of seizure and liens on financial accounts, asset forfeiture notices, Treasury assurance letters, a fake US Court of Appeals order and purported legal notices issued by the Federal Trade Commission and the US Supreme Court.

At least 11 forged identity cards and badges bearing the names of special agents and officials of various US federal agencies were also found on the seized devices. The ED investigation has revealed that Pranav Pithadia allegedly owned and managed the Patiala calling floors, employing 242 staff, including 110 dialers. He allegedly handled payment approvals and settlements and directed the movement of proceeds through US mule accounts and Dubai-based accounts.

"Harshil Nayanbhai Raval allegedly maintained the master accounts of the fake call centres, recording their earnings, partners' shares and remittances of proceeds of crime to Dubai. He also allegedly invested the proceeds in properties," said the agency. Jaswant Singh allegedly coordinated cash collections from victims in the US through pick-up teams and courier parcels and routed the money for conversion into Indian currency through tokens and hawala channels, it further said.

"Chetan Munjal, a 25 per cent partner in Rabditta Corporates, which operates Kala Ghoda restaurants, allegedly provided protection to the call centre operations," said the ED. "The company reportedly received Rs 23.19 lakh in proceeds of crime," it further said. The ED further found that the syndicate used lead lists containing approximately 20 lakh individuals in the US, along with US telephone numbers and auto-dialer servers hosted in Germany and Finland, to contact potential victims.

"Cryptocurrency, particularly USDT (Tether) on the TRON network and Bitcoin, was allegedly used extensively to transfer the proceeds. Victims were also made to deposit cash through Bitcoin ATMs," said the ED. The ED initiated its investigation based on scheduled offences of cheating, forgery and criminal conspiracy under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023, corresponding to Sections 420, 467, 471 and 120B of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), 1860.

The agency said further investigation is underway to identify additional proceeds of crime, trace the money trail and ascertain the involvement of other persons and entities in the alleged money laundering network. (ANI)