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Who is Sandeepa Virk? Instagram influencer under ED scanner
Sandeepa Virk, who has 1.2 million followers on Instagram, is also under scanner for her purported links with a Reliance Group executive.
Sandeepa Virk, a popular Instagram personality who claims to be an actor and a cosmetologist, has been arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) under the anti-money laundering law in a case of alleged fraud as well as misrepresentation, reports said on Wednesday, citing the agency.
Sandeepa Virk, is also under scanner for her purported links with Reliance Group executive, Angarai Natarajan Sethuraman (President, corporate affairs), according to a PTI news agency report.
The money-laundering case stems from an FIR lodged by the Punjab Police.
Who is Sandeepa Virk
According to an Instagram ID of Sandeepa Virk, she is an actor and entrepreneur and the founder of a skincare product website hyboocare.com, which the ED claims was a "front" for money laundering.
The Instagram handle, which also reads “god's favourite child” in bio, has 1.2 million followers.
Another social media-hosted bio data of the woman said she is a certified cosmetologist.
The ED took Sandeepa Virk into custody under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) on Tuesday after searches were conducted against her and her associates in Delhi and Mumbai over the last two days, the PTI report said.
Sandeepa Virk and her associates are being probed for allegedly exerting undue influence through "misrepresentation" and "defrauding" individuals by soliciting money under false pretences.
A special court sent her to the ED's custody till August 14, the agency said.
The agency said in a statement that the woman was also "in touch with" Sethuraman, former director of erstwhile Reliance Capital Limited and was was communicating with him regarding “illegal liaisoning”,
The ED said searches at Sethuraman's residence "confirmed" these allegations.
"Besides, diversion of funds for personal benefit has also been unearthed during the course of the search action," the report quoted ED as saying.
The ED alleged that public money worth about ₹18 crore belonging to Reliance Commercial Finance Limited (RCFL) was disbursed to Sethuraman in 2018 by "flouting" prudent lending norms.
The funds were lent under terms that allowed a deferment of the principal amount as well as the interest, with multiple waivers granted and no due diligence conducted, it said.
In addition, a home loan of ₹22 crore was provided by Reliance Capital Limited by "violating" the prudential norms, ED claimed. "A large part of these loans are seen to have been eventually siphoned off and remained unpaid," it alleged.
Sethuraman, in a statement, dismissed the allegations as “baseless", denying any connection with Sandeepa Virk or any transactions related to her. Sethuraman said that the home loan he received from Reliance Capital was granted following due process and was secured by the property offered as collateral.
Non-existent products
Sandeepa Virk's web portal purportedly sold FDA-approved beauty products. however, the the things listed on the website have been found to be non-existent, ED said, adding that the portal lacks a user registration option and is plagued by persistent payment gateway issues.
A scrutiny of the website revealed minimal social-media engagement, an inactive WhatsApp contact number and an absence of transparent organisational details, all of which suggested "non-genuine" commercial activity, according to the ED.
"These factors, including limited product range, inflated pricing, false claims of FDA approval and technical inconsistencies, indicate that the website serves as a front for laundering funds," ED said.
The federal agency said several "incriminating" documents were seized during the searches and the statement of a man named Farrukh Ali, stated to be an associate of Sandeepa Virk, was recorded.
