ED arrests cryptocurrency trader in Rs 1,100 crore international hawala scam | Money laundering case

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) arrested Naisar Kothari, a cryptocurrency trader, for his involvement in the offence of money laundering in a case related to online betting scam and international hawala of over Rs 1,100 crore.

A special PMLA court sent him to a 10-day custody with the directorate.

The financial probe agency registered a case of money laundering by Linkyun Technology Private Limited and Dokypay Pvt Ltd and others based on a FIR registered by Hyderabad CCS Police on the basis of a complaint received from one of the victims who had lost money by investing in a betting app.

"Subsequent investigation had revealed that apart from providing payment aggregator re-seller services to banned Apps in India, these Chinese owned Companies were indulging in International hawala and illegal activities," the ED said.

It said that login credentials and dongles for HSBC Bank accounts and payment aggregators like Paytm, Cashfree, Razorpay etc were shipped to China and were being operated from there. Three persons, including one Chinese national, were arrested earlier in this case and a chargesheet has been filed against them in the PMLA Court.

"Further investigation of the money trail revealed that a large amount of money was being inexplicably transferred to some Crypto-currency traders based in Bhavnagar. It was revealed that accused Kothari had purchased USDT Crypto-currency on behalf of the accused company and had transferred them to unknown wallets on foreign exchanges," the agency said.

The ED claimed that Kothari had knowingly and actively involved himself in layering the proceeds of crime.

The story has been taken from a news agency