ED Arrests 2 Chartered Accountants in Cyber Fraud Case

In a shocking case, two chartered accountants, along with eight other individuals, have been arrested by the Directorate of Enforcement (ED) on February 28 in New Delhi under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002, for their alleged involvement in the cyber fraud case.

The accused CAs are being identified as CA Ashok Kumar Sharma and CA Bhaskar Yadav. Their arrest is followed by an investigation that unearths the large-scale cyber fraud network.

How Did the Cyber Fraud Work?

These CAs, along with other educated professionals named Ajay and Vipin Yadav, worked together to manage a large money laundering network. These accused allegedly operated dummy companies to move illegal money from one place to another.

As per the investigation, the innocent people across India were cheated by the fraudsters. Under the scam, these innocent citizens were contacted with fake investment plans, part-time job offers, QR code scams, phishing messages, and other online tricks. Because of these false promises, many people transferred money to the fraudsters.

Funnelling Through Multiple Accounts

The money was first sent to several mule accounts, which were managed by the people connected to certain Telegram groups. After this, the money was moved through many fake or dummy companies in India. This was done so that the real source of the money could be hidden.

The funnelling did not just stop here. After the money was moved to the dummy companies, it was sent abroad. The accused allegedly used Indian bank-issued VISA and Mastercard debit cards on the UAE-based fintech platform “PYYPL,” which offers prepaid cards that can be used globally and is regulated by the Abu Dhabi Global Market Financial Services Regulatory Authority (ADGM).

After this, the money was withdrawn outside India, mainly in Dubai, using ATMs and card transactions, or it was converted into Virtual Digital Assets (VDAs) using the Binance crypto exchange. The money was further routed through custodial and noncustodial wallets to make the money trail difficult to track.

Shell Companies

The investigation revealed that the group of the accused persons operated over 20 companies. The majority of the companies were connected to the same addresses in Bijwasan, Delhi. Many of them had the same partners, authorised signatories, phone numbers, and email IDs.

ED Search Operation

The ED officials carried out searches at different places on 28th November 2024. During the search at Ashok Kumar Sharma’s house, they allegedly ran away and also attacked ED officials. After this, an FIR was filed against Sharma and his brother at Kapashera Police Station in New Delhi. Bhaskar Yadav was also on the run.

During the search at Ashok Kumar Sharma’s residence, investigators found important items. These included ATM cards and cheque books related to shell companies believed to be used in money laundering activities.

Since the searches in November 2024, both Ashok Kumar Sharma and Bhaskar Yadav had been avoiding the investigation. They applied for anticipatory bail to avoid arrest under the PMLA, but their bail request was rejected by the special court on January 15th, 2025. They also approached the Delhi High Court to get relief. However, on 2 February 2026, the High Court also rejected their request after observing that the case was serious and involved large-scale tax evasion. Yadav also went to the Supreme Court but did not succeed.

The Supreme Court directed both the CAs to surrender themselves. The two surrendered after ED presented strong evidence before the courts during the legal proceedings.

The ED has issued two Provisional Attachment Orders (PAOs) and attached properties worth around Rs 8.67 crore. These properties include both movable and immovable assets. Additionally, two prosecution complaints have been filed before the Special PMLA Court, and the court has already taken cognizance of them.

ED said that the investigation is still continuing.