INDIA. Mumbai: The Directorate of Enforcement (ED) has attached movable and immovable assets valued at Rs. 59.44 crore belonging to various entities under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002, in the Power Bank App fraud case. This development took place on Friday.
In this case, a provisional attachment order was issued on February 6, 2022, attaching a sum of Rs. 4.92 crore. Three individuals were arrested in the case, and a Prosecution Complaint was filed against them on April 25, with the trial currently underway before the Special Court, PMLA, in New Delhi.
On Friday, the assets of Vaibhav Dipak Shah, M/s. Sagar Diamonds Pvt. Ltd, M/s. RHC Global Exports Pvt. Ltd, and their associates were attached in the Power Bank App fraud case.
ED initiated its investigation based on various FIRs registered by the Uttarakhand Police, the Special Cell of the Delhi Police, and the Karnataka State Police, under different sections of the IPC and the Information Technology Act.
The investigation revealed that a group of Chinese nationals, as part of a larger conspiracy to defraud the Indian public, established several shell companies in India with the assistance of Chartered Accountants, Chartered Secretaries, and other Indian professionals.
Moreover, various software applications (Apps), including Power Bank App, Tesla Power Bank App, Ezplan, etc., were released on digital platforms like the Google Play Store, with the intent to entice the unsuspecting Indian public to invest in plans that falsely promised substantial returns.
Previously, ED had conducted searches in this case, uncovering that the individuals and entities involved had funneled significant funds abroad under the guise of bogus imports.
During the course of these searches, currencies and valuable items worth Rs. 10.34 crore were seized, and bank accounts with balances totaling Rs. 14.81 crore were frozen.
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