Chennai: Following the arrest of four individuals from Pallipattu town in Tiruvallur district on charges of cyber fraud, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) announced that Tamilarasan Kuppan, 29, Prakash, 26, Aravindan, 23, and Ajith, 28 set up shell companies and bank accounts to launder money obtained from cyber fraud activities. The ED conducted searches in Tiruvallur after detecting a suspicious transaction of 2.6 crore through a bank account, leading to the arrest of the four suspects. They are now in custody for four days, as granted by the Bengaluru court handling ED cases.

The suspects were involved with a WhatsApp group containing Chinese scammers, who used them to facilitate money laundering through shell companies established by the suspects. Tamilarasan and his associates aided cyber fraudsters by providing fake directors, addresses, and documents for these shell companies, along with liaising with bank staff to open accounts through which the illicit funds were laundered. One of the frozen accounts held 2.8 crore under the name of a shell company called Cyberforest Technology Private Limited in Bandhan Bank. This case involves a businessman in Jaipur being swindled by Chinese fraudsters masquerading as government agencies, with the Jaipur cybercrime police having initiated an investigation in early September.

The ED’s involvement in this case stems from numerous FIRs filed by state police across India, leading them to the money trail in Tiruvallur. In a prior operation in August, the ED had apprehended Shashi Kumar M, Sachin M, Kiran S K, and Charan Raj in Bengaluru. The agency has executed 17 searches and seized significant evidence like mobile phones and digital devices.Electronic devices. The Enforcement Directorate has uncovered proceeds exceeding 28 crore from cyber scams. Following the arrest of four individuals from Pallipattu town in Tiruvallur district involved in cyber fraud, the accused Tamilarasan Kuppan, Prakash, Aravindan, and Ajith set up shell companies and bank accounts to launder the illicit funds. The ED conducted searches in Tiruvallur after tracing a suspicious transaction of 2.6 crore, leading to the arrest of the individuals who were then granted custody by the Bengaluru court for ED cases. The group worked with Chinese scammers to launder money earned from cyber frauds through shell companies. The investigation revealed that they facilitated the creation of shell companies and bank accounts to move the proceeds of crime generated from cyber frauds. An account with 2.8 crore in the name of a shell company named Cyberforest Technology Private Limited was frozen by the agency. This case involves the defrauding of a businessman in Jaipur by Chinese fraudsters posing as government agencies. The Enforcement Directorate's investigation, stemming from multiple FIRs filed by state police across the country, led them to Tiruvallur. Prior to this, four individuals were arrested in Bengaluru in August in connection with a similar case.Up to now, 17 searches have been carried out, leading to the confiscation of evidence such as mobile phones and digital devices. The ongoing inquiry under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 has revealed illicit gains exceeding 28 crore rupees obtained from cyber scams.