An Enforcement Directorate (ED) money-laundering probe into a Chinese-linked mobile-phone app fraud, which has cases registered in several states, revealed that the scam’s controllers allegedly used a web of over two dozen shell companies to circulate the fraud money in a bid to hide the trail.
The apps had offered attractive returns on investment and initially gave a small pay-out of 10% to entice investors. The mobile phone app fraud refers to the alleged siphoning of public money worth a few hundred crore of rupees by Chinese nationals in the Power Bank app case, in which victims lost their investments. The Power Bank app claimed that it was a Bengaluru-based start-up but a probe subsequently showed that it was based in China.
The ED has under its scanner over a 100 dubious firms that were allegedly controlled by the Chinese accused persons. The alleged controllers would contact persons over social media messaging apps to recruit their partners from those who showed interest. The partners would then be allegedly asked to procure bogus bank accounts, create shell firms, spread awareness about the app/s, among other activities, sources said.
The ED had recently arrested two persons, a middleman and a Delhi-based school teacher, who had allegedly duped a person on the ground of helping him out in the probe.