The Directorate of Enforcement (ED) has attached movable assets totaling Rs.6.47 crore, including Rs.71.3 lakh in Crypto Currency, in a China-related Part-time employment fraud case under the PMLA, 200.
The ED launched an investigation based on an FIR filed by the South CEN Police Station in Bengaluru City in a case involving part time job fraud.
An ED investigation revealed that gullible adolescents were duped by certain Chinese individuals using a smartphone app called Keepsharer, which promised them part-time jobs and collected money from them. These Chinese individuals established businesses in India and hired many Indians as directors, interpreters, HR managers, and telecallers.
The app Keepsharer provided youths with part-time employment opportunities. This app was linked to a financial app. Through this software, they collected money from the general people under the name of investing. The youth were assigned the task of loving celebrity videos and sharing them on social media; upon completion of the task, Rs.20 per video was deposited to the Keepsharer wallet. They later withdrew the app from the Google Play store.
The money is related to nine people and six businesses, including Toningworld International Private Limited, Ansol Technology Private Limited, Redraccoon Services India Private Limited, Energico Digital Private Limited, Bridge Tera Technologies Private Limited, and Ashenfallous Technologies Private Limited. The money obtained through scams was moved from the bank accounts of these businesses or people, converted to cryptocurrency, and then sent to cryptocurrency exchanges situated in China.
Under section 17 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, the ED had already undertaken search operations on the 12 organisations implicated in this case and has thus far confiscated Rs. 5.85 Crore. Further research is now being conducted.
