The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has made a significant breakthrough in its ongoing investigation into a money laundering case linked to cybercrimes and online gaming, amounting to an estimated Rs 5,000 crore swindled from unsuspecting citizens. Punit Kumar, a resident of Delhi’s Moti Nagar locality, was apprehended on April 3 at the Indira Gandhi International Airport upon his return from Nepal, as per the agency’s statement.
According to the ED, Kumar is accused of masterminding various cyber fraud schemes, laundering illicit proceeds, and transferring them abroad. The agency alleges that Kumar devised a sophisticated method involving servers in the UAE to orchestrate scams, alongside a parallel system in India to support the syndicate’s operations in the UAE.
Describing Kumar as a crucial figure within the syndicate, the ED alleges that the group orchestrated numerous cybercrimes and online gaming schemes across India from 2020 to 2024, accumulating illicit gains of Rs 4,978 crore, which were subsequently funneled abroad. The agency also claims that Kumar had been evading summons issued by the ED.
This recent arrest follows the detention of another accused, Ashish Kakkar, from a hotel in Gurugram last month. Kakkar is currently in judicial custody. The money laundering case originated from police FIRs filed in Delhi, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, and other regions.
Detailing the modus operandi employed by fraudsters, the ED stated that cybercriminals employ various methods such as investment fraud, part-time job fraud, online shopping fraud, and loan fraud to generate proceeds of crime. The most prevalent tactic involves enticing victims into investment fraud schemes promising hefty returns. Victims, often investing their life savings, are coerced into making additional payments under false pretenses, depleting their funds transferred to the fraudsters’ accounts.
In this case, the ED alleges a similar scheme was employed, with illicit proceeds funneled into bank accounts controlled by Kakkar and his associates’ companies before being sent abroad as foreign outward remittances.
