New Delhi: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has apprehended Punit Kumar, a cyber fraudster based in Delhi, also known as Puneet Maheshwari, for his central role in a syndicate orchestrating cybercrimes and online gaming scams across India from 2020 to 2024. The illicit gains from these activities, totaling Rs 4,978 crore, were funneled abroad. Kumar was apprehended on April 3 at the Indira Gandhi International Airport in Delhi while returning from Nepal.
Kumar's modus operandi involved defrauding individuals through various cyber schemes and laundering the proceeds of crime, channeling them out of India. He operated by utilizing servers in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to orchestrate scams, with support systems in India to facilitate the syndicate's operations in the UAE.
After his arrest, Kumar was produced before a Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) court and remanded to ED custody until April 9. The ED launched its investigation based on multiple First Information Reports (FIRs) filed across India, including in Delhi, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, and Chandigarh.
Kumar's arrest is part of a broader crackdown on cybercrimes and online gaming scams. Earlier, another accused, Ashish Kakkar, was arrested on March 2 and is currently in judicial custody. Last year and this year, the ED conducted search and seizure operations across multiple states, resulting in the confiscation of assets such as foreign-made gold bars, cash, jewelry, luxury cars, and electronic devices containing incriminating evidence.
The investigation uncovered that the online gaming companies and websites involved were registered in offshore locations like Curacao, Malta, and Cyprus. These entities engaged in various fraudulent activities, including investment fraud, part-time job fraud, online shopping fraud, and loan fraud. Victims were enticed with guaranteed profits against investments and then coerced into further payments under false pretenses until their funds were depleted.
Kumar, Kakkar, and their associates established over 200 companies, using forged documents to control banking transactions. They facilitated outward remittances from the proceeds of cybercrimes by engaging in circular trading through import-export activities, ultimately channeling funds through Hawala transactions. The ED's investigation is ongoing to unravel the full extent of the syndicate's operations and bring the perpetrators to justice.
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