New Delhi: A man who posed as an ‘ED officer’ and extorted over Rs 80 lakh from a builder and other victims was arrested in Gurugram and sent to five-day custody of the Enforcement Directorate (ED) for questioning, an official said on Thursday.
Raviraj Kumar was arrested by Directorate of Enforcement (ED), Gurugram Zonal Office, under the provisions of Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002, for his involvement in alleged extortion of money by cheating, fraud and projecting himself as senior officer of the ED.
He allegedly used multiple SIM cards to disguise his real identity and cheated multiple persons. “An analysis of his multiple bank accounts revealed that he had collected about Rs 80 lakh through such means,” he said.
Raviraj Kumar was presented in a Special PMLA Court on Wednesday from where he was sent to ED custody for five days, the official said.
The ED initiated investigation based on FIR registered by Sector-10, Police Station, Gurugram against Raviraj Kumar and other unknown persons under various sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023.
The investigation revealed that Raviraj Kumar had extorted money from a Gurugram builder by threatening with dire consequences.
During the investigation, the ED recorded statements of various persons and collected digital and documentary evidence such as bank statements, WhatsApp chat, and audio recordings.
In a separate case in Sikkim, the ED, Gangtok Sub Zonal Office, has provisionally attached movable and immovable properties worth Rs 65.46 crore under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002, in connection with the misappropriation and laundering of funds from the State Bank of Sikkim (SBS) by Dorjee Tshering Lepcha, former General Manager (Operations), SBS.
The attached properties include four immovable properties comprising residential buildings and land parcels located at Deorali, Syari, Ranipool, and Penlong, Sikkim. These properties were found to have been acquired using Proceeds of Crime (POC) derived from misappropriation from SBS.
In addition to immovable properties, bank balances and fixed deposits in the names of Dorjee Tshering Lepcha and his family members, totalling approximately Rs 53.41 crore have also been attached.
The ED initiated investigation based on an FIR registered by CID-PS, Gangtok under various sections of the IPC, 1860, and the Information Technology Act, 2000. The investigation was later transferred to Sikkim Vigilance Police.
The ED investigation revealed that Dorjee Tshering Lepcha, while serving as General Manager (Operations) at State Bank of Sikkim, orchestrated a large-scale fraud involving the creation of a fraudulent bank account in the name of “AE Roads and Bridges Department, Government of Sikkim”.
Funds were fraudulently credited to this account through manipulation of General Ledger (GL) accounts maintained by SBS for Central Bank of India (CBI) and State Bank of India (SBI) transactions. These funds were subsequently diverted to personal accounts held by Dorjee Tshering Lepcha, his wife and other family members and associates, the official said.
The investigation also uncovered manipulation of fixed deposits to enhance interest earnings fraudulently, the official said.
(IANS)
