India’s Enforcement Directorate (ED) has apprehended Manideep Mago under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) of 2002 in connection with a case of “illegal foreign remittances” involving cryptocurrency. The probe revealed that a company based in Delhi sold cryptocurrencies valued at more than Rs. 1858 crore ($223 million) on crypto exchanges and conducted foreign remittances exceeding Rs. 3500 crore. An international Hawala network was implicated in the scheme, funneling funds to Canada and Hong Kong through fraudulent invoices. This syndicate heavily invested in illicit crypto mining and arbitrage trading. Additionally, evidence suggested the participation of chartered accountants and bank officials. The ED highlighted the creation of counterfeit invoices and falsified entries in the tally database using 70,000 fictitious names to justify cash deposits without disclosing the origin of the crypto. Manideep Mago has been granted a five-day custody for further questioning, while the investigation remains ongoing.
