The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has arrested a partner in two private firms in connection with a fraud allegedly committed through some mobile applications on the promise of phenomenal returns against the investments made by users. The agency has got his six-day custody from the court concerned.
The accused, Anas Ahmed, is a partner in H&S Ventures Inc. and Clifford Ventures that allegedly collected about ₹84 crore from the victims. “Anas Ahmed has Chinese links and is suspected of being the mastermind of the whole racket,” said the ED. The fraud was committed through applications like “Power Bank”.
In Chennai prison
Ahmed was earlier lodged in the Puzhal Central Prison, Chennai, in a case registered by the CB-CID there. It is alleged that he, along with his associates, promised to remit interests on a daily or weekly basis on investments made through “Power Bank” and other such fraudulent applications. However, the entities were shut down after collecting huge sums of money from gullible public, following which the accused persons went underground.
“Anas Ahmed indulged in corrupt and illegal activities through his partnership firms by deviating from the declared line of business/activity of gaming and has collected money from public in the guise of investment schemes...the proceeds generated through criminal activities have been layered through a number of shell entities for sending the funds abroad and also investing them in crypto currencies,” an official said.
In June last, the Bengaluru police arrested 11 persons, including four from China and Tibet, in an alleged cheating case. The alleged mastermind was identified as Ahmed. His wife, a Chinese national named Hu Xiaolin, was also arrested and later released on bail. That case was registered on a complaint against 13 companies. Preliminary findings had suggested that people were cheated of about ₹290 crore.
The same month, the Cyber Cell of the Delhi Police arrested 11 persons, including two chartered accountants, for allegedly cheating over five lakh people of more than ₹150 crore via “Power Bank” and EZ Plan. The accused persons had floated about 110 shell companies for diverting the funds.
The Chennai Police, in June 2021, registered a case on the basis of multiple complaints alleging that investors were cheated via “Power Bank” and “Tesla Power Bank” mobile applications.
