New Delhi, Jan 2 (UNI) The Enforcement Directorate’s (ED) Jalandhar Zonal Office announced on Friday that it recently conducted a search operation at the premises of one Arpit Rathore, who was subsequently arrested during the search in connection with a money laundering investigation related to the digital arrest case of SP Oswal.
Officials stated that during the search, incriminating records, digital devices, and unexplained cash amounting to Rs 14 lakh were recovered and seized.
The ED initiated its PMLA investigation based on an FIR registered by the Cyber Crime Police Station in Ludhiana under the BNSS, 2023. Nine additional FIRs related to cybercrime or digital arrest involving the same group were also included in the investigation.
The ED investigation revealed that during the digital arrest of SP Oswal, fraudsters impersonating officers of the Central Bureau of Investigation extorted Rs 7 crore from him. The same group defrauded others of Rs 1.73 crore through similar digital arrest and cyberfraud scams.
The investigation found that the illicit funds were routed through multiple mule accounts operated by the accused, Rumi Kalita and Arpit Rathore. Kalita, who is from Guwahati, and Rathore, from Kanpur, are involved in these activities. It was further determined that Kalita associated with Atanu Choudary and utilized bank accounts belonging to his entity, M/s Frozenman Warehousing and Logistics, as well as another entity, Rigglo Ventures Pvt Ltd, to launder the illicit proceeds.
Funds derived from nine digital arrest cases were deposited into the accounts of Frozenman Warehousing and Logistics, while proceeds from two cases were placed in the account of Rigglo Ventures Pvt Ltd.
These amounts were subsequently transferred to more than 200 mule bank accounts, facilitating the diversion of the proceeds. Arpit Rathore enabled these transactions by instructing Rumi Kalita on transferring funds after victims had made their deposits.
The investigation also found that Arpit Rathore played a significant role not only in the digital arrest of S.P. Oswal but also in several other cybercrimes and frauds targeting innocent people. Rathore maintained contact with foreign associates to carry out these crimes, aiding foreign nationals by providing mule accounts and facilitating the transfer of illegal proceeds to foreign jurisdictions.
In return, these foreign nationals compensated Rathore and obtained details about the mule accounts to help move cybercrime profits abroad. It was also discovered that Rathore received his share of the criminal proceeds in the form of USDT cryptocurrency and Indian rupees.
Earlier, searches were conducted in this case, and the accused Rumi Kalita was arrested. She is in ED custody. Accused Arpit Rathore is also in ED custody until January 5. Further investigation is ongoing.
