Chennai: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) arrested four young individuals from Pallipattu town in Tiruvallur district for their involvement in cyber fraud. The arrested individuals, identified as Tamilarasan Kuppan, 29, Prakash, 26, Aravindan, 23, and Ajith, 28, are accused of setting up shell companies and opening bank accounts to launder money obtained from various cyber frauds.

Following a transaction of 2.6 crore through a suspicious bank account in Tiruvallur, ED conducted searches and apprehended the four suspects. The Bengaluru court for ED cases has granted the investigation agency custody of the accused for four days.

These individuals were part of a WhatsApp group with Chinese scammers, who directed them to assist in laundering the proceeds of cyber fraud through shell companies. They helped provide dummy directors, addresses, and documents for the companies, as well as liaised with bank personnel to open accounts for the illicit funds.

ED discovered and froze an account with a deposit of 2.8 crore held by a shell company named Cyberforest Technology Private Limited at Bandhan Bank. This case involves the swindling of a businessman in Jaipur for 2.6 crore by Chinese fraudsters impersonating various central government agencies.

The investigation is part of ED's larger probe based on numerous FIRs filed by state police across the country, linking the illicit transaction back to Tiruvallur. In a previous operation, ED had apprehended four individuals in Bengaluru. The agency has conducted 17 searches and seized incriminating items, such as mobile phones and digital devices.Electronic devices. An investigation carried out under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 has revealed that over 28 crore have been generated from cyber scams. Following the arrest of four individuals from Pallipattu town in Tiruvallur district for their involvement in cyber fraud, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) announced that the accused individuals, Tamilarasan Kuppan, Prakash, Aravindan, and Ajith, set up shell companies and bank accounts to disguise the proceeds obtained from various cyber offenses. Subsequent to conducting searches in Tiruvallur related to a suspicious bank account transaction of 2.6 crore, the ED took the four individuals into custody. The Bengaluru court overseeing ED cases has granted the agency four-day custody of the accused. The group was linked to Chinese scammers through a WhatsApp group, assisting them in money laundering activities via shell companies. The agency mentioned that Tamilarasan, along with Ajith, Prakash, and Aravindan, managed a network to help cyber criminals set up dummy companies and accounts to launder illicit funds. A bank account holding 2.8 crore was frozen by the agency under the name of a shell company named Cyberforest Technology Private Limited at Bandhan Bank. This particular case revolves around the defrauding of a businessman in Jaipur amounting to 2.6 crore by individuals posing as government officials from various central agencies. ED initiated this case after multiple FIRs were lodged by state police across the country, leading them to the transactions in Tiruvallur. Earlier, the agency had apprehended Shashi Kumar M, Sachin M, Kiran S K, and Charan Raj in Bengaluru in August.Up to this point, there have been 17 searches carried out, resulting in the seizure of evidence such as mobile phones and digital devices. The ongoing investigation under PMLA, 2002 has uncovered proceeds exceeding 28 crore derived from cyber scams.