Chennai: Following the arrest of four young individuals from Pallipattu town in Tiruvallur district on charges of cyber fraud, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) announced that the accused, namely Tamilarasan Kuppan (29), Prakash (26), Aravindan (23), and Ajith (28), had set up shell companies and bank accounts to launder money obtained through cyber fraud schemes. ED officials conducted searches in Tiruvallur in connection with a suspicious transaction of 2.6 crore rupees from a bank account, leading to the arrest of the four suspects. The Bengaluru court for ED cases has granted the agency four days of custody for further investigation. The group was involved in a scheme with Chinese scammers through a WhatsApp group, facilitating the laundering of proceeds from cyber fraud activities via shell companies. The individuals worked together to provide false information to banks and set up fake companies to hide the illegal funds. ED identified and froze an account with a deposit of 2.8 crore rupees linked to a shell company named Cyberforest Technology Private Limited in Bandhan Bank. This case involves the scamming of a Jaipur businessman out of 2.6 crore by individuals posing as representatives of government agencies. The ED's involvement in the case stems from multiple FIRs filed by state police across the country and their tracing of the illicit transaction to Tiruvallur. A previous arrest in Bengaluru involved four individuals in connection with similar activities. The agency has conducted numerous searches and seized evidence such as mobile phones as part of its ongoing investigation.The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has found over 28 crore in proceeds from cyber scams through its investigation under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002. Following the arrest of four individuals from Pallipattu town in Tiruvallur district for their involvement in cyber fraud, the ED revealed that the accused Tamilarasan Kuppan, Prakash, Aravindan, and Ajith set up shell companies and bank accounts to launder the illegally obtained funds. The ED conducted searches in Tiruvallur related to a suspicious bank transaction of 2.6 crore before apprehending the group, who were part of a WhatsApp group with Chinese scammers. The accused were granted four-day custody by the Bengaluru court overseeing ED cases. They facilitated cyber fraud by creating shell companies and establishing bank accounts to launder illicit proceeds. An account containing 2.8 crore was frozen by the agency, linked to a shell company named Cyberforest Technology Private Limited. This case involves defrauding a businessman in Jaipur of 2.6 crore by impersonating various central government agencies. The ED's investigation, initiated based on FIRs from multiple state police departments nationwide, led them to Tiruvallur. Previous arrests related to similar activities were made by the ED in Bengaluru involving Shashi Kumar M, Sachin M, Kiran S K, and Charan Raj.Up to this point, 17 searches have been carried out resulting in the seizure of incriminating material such as mobile phones and other digital devices. The investigation under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 has revealed proceeds exceeding 28 crore obtained from cyber scams.