ED attaches over 3 dozen horses worth Rs 4 crore in cyber fraud case

The Enforcement Directorate Wednesday said it has attached more than three dozen horses worth about Rs 4 crore as part of a money laundering investigation in a cyber fraud case in West Bengal where foreign citizens were duped through fake call centres.

The federal agency said in a statement that it issued a provisional order under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) on Tuesday to attach properties worth over Rs 5 crore of Kunal Gupta, owner of Met Technologies Pvt Ltd, and his associate Pawan Jaiswal who ran an international "cyber fraud" network.

The attached properties include 37 horses belonging to KG Stud Farm LLP, valued at Rs 3.98 crore, and flats worth Rs 1.08 crore in Greenleaf Complex at Baguiati in Kolkata.

"The attached 37 horses are stationed across race clubs and riding schools in India," the ED said.

Under such an attachment involving animals, the ED imposes restriction on their sale and once the provisional order is confirmed by the Adjudicating Authority of the PMLA, they can be auctioned and funds obtained from this sale is kept in government treasury or restituted to the victims of the fraud.

The agency claimed that there was a "nexus" of fraudulent call centres controlled by Gupta, targeting victims in the US, the UK, and Australia.

These centres "defrauded" individuals through false technical support, fake loans via counterfeit apps (mobile applications) and "fraudulent" business transactions, as per the ED.

The proceeds of crime were layered and laundered through various companies, including KG Stud Farm and GD Infotech, concealing their illicit origins, it said.

KG Stud Farm was used as a "vehicle" to "launder" funds, with proceeds of crime being utilised for the purchase, maintenance, and training of horses, the agency said.

"Race winnings generated from these horses, themselves linked to criminal proceeds, were re-invested, perpetuating a cycle of laundering," it said.

Jaiswal, a key associate of Gupta, utilised the alleged criminal funds through GD Infotech to acquire properties in Greenleaf Complex.

Unexplained cash deposits and financial transactions linked to the acquisition, consolidating three flats into a single property valued at Rs 1.08 crore have been found, as per the ED.

These transactions were found to lack legitimate sources of income, directly tying the property to the proceeds of crime, it said.

Assets worth Rs 68 crore were attached in this case earlier.