E-Paper
Instant loan app racket: ED launches money laundering probe
According to sources, Enforcement Directorate summoned the chargesheet of the case around 15 days ago and it has been submitted by Chandigarh Police
{Instant loan app racket}
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has launched a money laundering probe into the instant loan app racket unearthed by the Chandigarh Police’s cyber crime branch in September last year with the arrest of 34 people, including a Chinese national.
According to sources, ED summoned the chargesheet of the case around 15 days ago and it has been submitted by police.
During police probe, money laundering to the tune of over ₹400 crore through mule accounts of various shell companies, bogus political parties and trusts had come to fore.
“We had written to ED last October, informing them about the money laundering angle. They wrote to us 15 days back, seeking documents, including the case chargesheet,” said a senior police officer stated.
Apart from arresting kingpin Wan Chengua in September 2022, UT police, last week, had also arrested a Delhi resident Bharat Kumar for helping another Chinese kingpin, Stark, escape through Nepal in 2022.
“ED may take both Wan Chengua and Bharat on production warrant to investigate the case. We are also looking for another Chinese suspect Zhouyunfei, a handler of Chengua. Other than that, we have zeroed in on two more suspects Troy and Peter,” a senior police official said.
Copy of Stark’s Nepal passport recovered
Following Kumar’s arrest from Karol Bagh, Delhi, police also recovered a copy of Stark’s fake Nepalese passport from a hotel in Gurgaon where he stayed with Kumar. The passport was under the fake identity “Tamang Tashi”.
“Stark stayed in India for over six months and paid Kumar monthly to fix his meetings with the co-accused, as the latter had incurred losses in his business of mobile accessories in Karol Bagh. The Chinese accused promised him a share in profits from the loan app racket,” said a police official.
