The Directorate of Enforcement (ED), Surat Sub-Zonal Office, has arrested four individuals for their alleged involvement in large-scale cybercrimes that defrauded citizens of over Rs 100 crore.
The accused have been identified as Makbul Abdul Rehman Doctor, his son Kaashif Makbul Doctor, Mahesh Mafatlal Desai, and Om Rajendra Pandya. They were taken into custody under Section 19 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 (PMLA), in connection with multiple cyber fraud cases involving proceeds of crime exceeding Rs 100 crore.
According to the ED, Makbul Doctor, his sons Kaashif Makbul Doctor and Bassam Makbul Doctor, along with Mahesh Desai, Om Rajendra Pandya, and their associates, allegedly deceived several individuals through cyber frauds such as digital arrests, forex trading scams, and fake legal notices impersonating the Supreme Court of India and the ED.
As part of its efforts to combat the rising cyber cases of fake summons and digital scams, the ED has recently introduced a new system of issuing summons with a QR code and a two-step verification process to prevent misuse by cyber fraudsters.
Preliminary investigations have revealed that the accused were involved in laundering more than Rs 100 crore by opening and managing multiple bank accounts in the names of employees, associates, and hired individuals to collect and move the illicit funds. They also used pre-activated SIM cards acquired through fraudulent means to operate these accounts and avoid detection.
The probe further found that the accused converted a major portion of the illicit money into cryptocurrency, particularly USDT, and channelled it through various Hawala operators to conceal the source of the funds and bypass regulatory checks.
The four arrested individuals were presented before the Special Court (PMLA) in Ahmedabad, which granted five days of ED custody for further investigation.
Authorities confirmed that the investigation into the case is ongoing to trace additional suspects and recover the laundered funds.
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