ED arrests two chartered accountants in fraud case

The Enforcement Directorate has arrested two chartered accountants for their alleged role in a fraud case where people were lured into transferring funds on the promise of investment opportunities, part-time job schemes, and other bogus offers.

Ashok Kumar Sharma and Bhaskar Yadav have been accused of being part of a syndicate that assisted in laundering the funds.

The two accused had sought anticipatory bail, but their applications were dismissed by a special court in January 2025 and the Delhi High Court on February 2. Mr. Yadav then filed a special leave petition before the Supreme Court, which was also turned down on February 18, with a direction to surrender before the court concerned.

“Upon surrender, they were arrested under Section 19 of PMLA (Prevention of Money Laundering Act),” the agency said.

In the alleged fraud case, the ED found that the proceeds of about ₹641 crore were initially credited into mule accounts managed and operated by members of certain Telegram groups and then laundered through a web of dummy or shell entities located across India to conceal the source of funds. The money was subsequently transferred using Indian debit cards to a United Arab Emirates-based fintech platform “PYYPL” that provides internationally usable prepaid cards, the agency alleged.

“From the PYYPL wallets, the funds were either withdrawn overseas, particularly in Dubai through ATMs and PoS transactions, or converted into Virtual Digital Assets (VDAs) via the Binance crypto exchange,” it said, adding that the funds were further routed through a complex chain of custodial and non-custodial wallets.

The ED further alleged that a structured syndicate, comprising well-educated professionals was operating a coordinated money laundering scheme.

It allegedly incorporated and controlled over 20 entities operating from common addresses in Delhi’s Bijwasan, with overlapping partners and authorised signatories, mobile numbers, and email IDs. There was a “systematic layering of illicit funds and their subsequent transfer outside India” through those entities, the agency said.

In the same case, the agency had searched various premises, including the residences of Mr. Sharma and Mr. Yadav, on November 28, 2024. It alleged that during searches, Mr. Sharma fled from the premises and assaulted ED officials. A case in this regard was registered against him and his brother, Subhash Sharma, at Kapashera police station. Mr. Yadav had also allegedly absconded.

Since then, as alleged by the ED, the two chartered accountants had been evading investigation and exploring legal options.

The agency has so far arrested 10 individuals, including Mr. Sharma and Mr. Yadav, and provisionally attached assets worth about ₹8.67 crore in the case. It has also filed two prosecution complaints that the special court has taken cognisance of.