Did ED Just Seize Illegal Call Centre Properties Worth Rs 7.31 Crore?

Jalandhar, July 18 (NationPress) - In a significant operation targeting an international scam that exploited gift cards and Virtual Digital Assets, the ED has seized properties valued at Rs 7.31 crore belonging to an illegal call centre in Ludhiana and Mohali, as confirmed by an official on Friday.

The call centre was allegedly operated by Ankush Bassi, Piyush Malik, Gurmeet Singh Gandhi, and others, who deceived foreign nationals under the guise of providing customer support services.

According to an ED statement, the operators manipulated foreign clients into purchasing gift cards and Virtual Digital Assets.

The accused later converted these gift cards and virtual assets into cash in India through crypto exchanges, layering the transactions via multiple bank accounts belonging to Bassi, Malik, Gandhi, and their family members.

The ED’s Jalandhar Zonal Office issued a Provisional Attachment Order against the properties in Ludhiana and Mohali under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002, on Thursday.

Investigations revealed that the trio operated the call centre, falsely claiming to offer services without any legitimate affiliations.

The profits generated from these illicit activities were utilized to acquire immovable assets, according to the ED.

In a separate investigation, on July 4, the ED’s Chandigarh Zonal Office executed searches at the premises of three suspected shell companies - M/s Kindent Business Solutions, M/s Rainet Technology, and M/s Mool Business Solutions, located in Noida and Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002.

These firms were allegedly managed by dummy directors, masquerading as IT service providers offering bill payment solutions and UPI applications without proper regulation from the RBI.

Based on the evidence collected and confirmations from various banks, the ED has frozen 135 bank accounts linked to these companies, amounting to a total Proceeds of Crime (PoC) of Rs 204 crore.

This action follows earlier searches conducted in February 2025, where 52 bank accounts were frozen, totaling a PoC of Rs 187 crore. To date, a total of Rs 391 crore has been frozen.

These companies essentially act as conduits for laundering money from a multi-crore QFX/YFX online forex and MLM (Multi-Level Marketing) scam that has defrauded thousands of investors across India.

The agents collect cash or funds in their bank accounts or those of others, subsequently routing the money through the aforementioned accounts, according to the ED.