(MENAFN- Live Mint) The Delhi Zonal Office of the Enforcement Directorate (ED ) is conducting search operations today, October 7 at 15 premises in Delhi, Gurugram, Haryana, Mumbai, and Noida, in relation to the Tech Support scam, according to sources in the agency.

The searches are part of an investigation under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA ), initiated based on multiple FIRs registered by the Delhi Police against Karan Verma and others, ED sources said.

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• According to the sources, during the probe the ED found that fraudsters were running multiple fake call centres situated at Rohini, Paschim Vihar, and Rajouri Garden areas in Delhi .
• They added that foreign nationals were duped by fraudsters impersonating as customer support of reputable companies such as Charles Schwab Financial Services, Microsoft, and Apple; and police or investigating officers. The scamster callers extorted the victims by threatening to arrest them for failing to comply.
• Official sources said the investigation also found that monetary assets of the victims were converted into crypto currencies and gift cards, which were then transferred to the fraudsters and accomplices.
• The probe found that crypto wallets used by the fraudsters have transactions to the tune of millions of US dollars.

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Meanwhile, the agency recently arrested two accused, identified as Ansh Trivedi and Raju Dashwant, in connection with an alleged ₹50 crore worth fake liquor challan scam in Madhya Pradesh , according to a PTI report.

The two“key conspirators” were taken into custody from Indore on October 3 under PMLA provisions for devising and executing the“fraudulent” modus operandi of enabling liquor contractors to“illicitly” obtain profits. A Magistrate Court sent them to ED custody till October 8, it added.

ED probe found that the scam obtain profits while causing significant losses to the state treasury, by initially deposited treasury challans with nominal amounts, deliberately leaving the“Rupees in Words” section blank, which were later filled with inflated amounts.

“These manipulated challan copies were subsequently submitted to country liquor warehouses or district excise offices (in the case of foreign liquor) as false proof of payment for excise duties, basic license fee or minimum guarantee commitments,” it alleged.

(With inputs from PTI)

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