The Enforcement Directorate (ED) Headquarters has taken significant action by arresting Manideep Mago under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002. This arrest comes in connection with a case involving illegal foreign remittances and substantial transactions in cryptocurrencies.
Manideep Mago, who was produced before the Hon’ble Court on June 18, 2024, has been granted five days of ED custody until June 23, 2024. The investigation by ED was initiated based on intelligence indicating that a Delhi-based company had sold cryptocurrencies amounting to more than Rs. 1858 Crore on crypto exchanges.
Preliminary investigations further revealed that this company and its associated entities had made foreign outward remittances exceeding Rs. 3500 Crore. Additionally, cash deposits totaling more than Rs. 1300 Crore were made in bank accounts linked to these entities.
During the investigation, ED uncovered evidence of an international hawala syndicate operating in Delhi. This syndicate was reportedly collecting cash from exporters/importers and remitting it overseas using bogus invoices. The syndicate allegedly facilitated foreign outward remittances totaling over Rs. 3500 Crore to Canada and Hong Kong, under the guise of transactions such as online lease of GPU servers for crypto mining and educational software.
ED’s search operations also revealed that syndicate members had incorporated companies in Hong Kong and Canada to facilitate their illicit activities. These activities included heavy investments in illegal crypto mining and arbitrage trading, forming a significant part of their international hawala operations.
The investigation further implicated chartered accountants and bank officials in these activities. Bogus invoices, including forged entries under random names in tally databases, were allegedly used to justify the massive cash deposits.
Following their findings, ED filed a complaint with the Crime Branch of Delhi Police, leading to the registration of an FIR against syndicate members. Consequently, ED recorded an Enforcement Case Information Report (ECIR) to investigate the matter under the provisions of PMLA, 2002.
Earlier, Delhi Police had also arrested Manideep Mago in connection with this case. With the current custody granted by the court, ED aims to conduct a thorough custodial interrogation of Manideep Mago to unravel further details and trace the source of the crypto involved in these transactions.
