India’s financial crime investigation agency has traced massive financial flows connected to cyber fraud, exposing the rising scale and complexity of digital crime across the country.
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has identified proceeds of it worth ₹34,855 crore generated through activities including illegal online gambling, cryptocurrency scams, predatory instant loan applications, investment fraud and impersonation rackets, according to a report by a publication.
Out of this amount, assets valued at ₹12,229 crore have already been attached under investigations conducted using the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), an ED officer familiar with the matter said.
Investigations across 234 cybercrime-related PMLA cases revealed that large portions of the funds were routed through mule bank accounts, shell companies, cryptocurrencies and hawala channels. Authorities said these laundering techniques helped organised groups move and conceal illegal earnings across multiple layers.
The findings were shared during the first national conference on “Tackling cyber-enabled frauds and dismantling the ecosystem”, organised by the Central Bureau of Investigation and the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre in Delhi last week. The event brought together more than 500 investigators to discuss coordinated action against digital financial crimes.
“Out of a little over ₹1.70 lakh crore proceeds of it attached by us till date, ₹34,855 crore is linked to 234 cybercrimes cases we have investigated under PMLA. We have already attached ₹12,229 crore out of this amount but the scale of these crimes is very big,” the ED officer said.
“Organised groups or individuals generate proceeds of crime (PoC) through Ponzi schemes, bogus forex trading/stock trading applications, illegal betting, gambling, and gaming platforms, instant loan apps, digital arrests, impersonation frauds etc,” the official added.
“Such coordination is essential to effectively combat cybercrime and to make India’s digital ecosystem safe and trustworthy,” Shah added.
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