ED raids call centres in Pune, Patiala running ‘scams’ on US citizens

During the search operations, three functioning call centres were unearthed, one at Pune and two at Patiala.

The Enforcement Directorate on Tuesday raided call centres in Pune and Patiala which were allegedly executing scams targeting United States citizens inducing them to make payments under false pretexts. ED has also raided another location at Chandigarh linked to the mastermind of the scam, officials said.

ED’s Hyderabad Zonal Office, conducted search operations on Tuesday under Section 17 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). According to officials, the searches were conducted on the basis of material gathered during the investigation and subsequent field verification, which indicated that a group of persons was operating and controlling call centres at Patiala and Pune.

During the search operations, three functioning call centres were unearthed, one at Pune and two at Patiala. Around 220 persons were found working at these call centres at the time of the search operations. Their identities, assigned roles and reporting structures are being recorded and verified, the ED has said. “The premises were equipped with multiple workstations, cubicles, computers, headsets, mobile phones and networking equipment. It has been revealed that the call centres were engaged in making calls to US nationals and allegedly inducing them to make payments under false pretexts,” read a press statement from the ED.

“At the time of search operations, the call centres in Patiala were found to be engaged in cheating and extorting US nationals. Mobile phones and a laptop recovered from the persons operating the centres were found to contain data relating to the modus operandi of the syndicate and the distribution of the proceeds generated by defrauding victims. Similarly, the same modus operandi of defrauding was found to be done from the fake call centre being operated from Pune premises,” the release further stated.

Officials said that the residential premises searched at Chandigarh were being used by the alleged mastermind for coordinating and controlling the scam call centres operating at Patiala. “Multiple digital devices containing data relating to the functioning of the call centres were found at the premises. A person allegedly involved in processing and converting the proceeds from US Dollars into Indian Rupees was also found operating from these premises, and his role and the related financial transactions are under examination,” the release added.

A large number of digital devices including 66 mobile phones, 13 laptops, hard disks and other communication equipment, cash and records were seized, officials said. The investigators are examining the calling campaigns, scripts, dialler and VoIP-based systems, victim-related data, payment channels, the persons managing and controlling the operations, and the flow of funds generated through the alleged activities, ED said.