NEW DELHI DEC 25: The Enforcement Directorate conducted searches at 11 locations across five states in connection with a money laundering investigation into a digital arrest scam in which Ludhiana-based industrialist SP Oswal lost over Rs 7 crore, officials said on Thursday. The raids were carried out on Monday at sites in Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, Gujarat and Assam under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002.
“Various incriminating documents and digital devices were recovered and seized during search proceedings,” an ED spokesperson said in a statement. The agency arrested Rumi Kalita from Assam on Tuesday after it emerged that she allegedly offered her mule account for transferring funds in the case.
“The amounts cheated from victims were immediately diverted by a group of persons into various mule accounts, and credentials of those accounts were being used by Rumi Kalita in lieu of a certain percentage of the cheated money to be given to her as her share,” the spokesperson said. Incriminating evidence gathered during the search shows that she was allegedly deeply involved in the diversion and layering of the proceeds of crime, the ED said. Kalita has been remanded to ED custody till January 2, 2026.
The agency launched the money laundering probe based on 10 FIRs registered by various police authorities regarding cybercrime and digital arrest related to the same group of criminals. ED investigation revealed that during the digital arrest of SP Oswal, fraudsters impersonating officers of the Central Bureau of Investigation and using forged official and judicial documents forced him to transfer Rs 7 crore into various accounts. Of this amount, Rs 5.24 crore was recovered from the accounts and transferred back, the ED spokesperson said.
The remaining funds were transferred to various mule accounts maintained in the names of labourers, delivery boys and other entities, which were either further diverted or withdrawn in cash immediately. Earlier, another round of searches was conducted on January 31 in the case, which resulted in the recovery and seizure of incriminating documents.
