MUMBAI: A special PMLA (Prevention of Money Laundering Act) court has taken cognisance of the chargesheet filed by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and issued process against five accused, including partners of Magnatel BPS and Consultant LLP, in connection with a large-scale cyber fraud racket that duped US citizens. ‘Issuance of process’ refers to the court finding prima facie sufficient material to proceed against the accused persons.
In an order dated November 1, special judge R B Rote observed that there was a prima facie case under Sections 3 and 70, punishable under Section 4 of the PMLA, 2002, and directed that process be issued against all the accused. The court also extended the judicial custody of key accused Sanjay Vijay More and Ajit Sankar Soni till November 15.
The complaint, filed by ED assistant director Amit Kumar, arises from a Pune cyber police case based on an FIR by PSI Tushar Suryakant Bhosle. The FIR states that the accused operated an unauthorised call centre—Magnatel BPS and Consultant LLP—on the ninth floor of a building called Pride Icon in Pune’s Kharadi area.
According to the order, the call centre “was engaged in defrauding foreign nationals, primarily American citizens” by using spoofing applications such as Burner, TextNow and TextFree. “The accused, posing as representatives from Amazon, would call victims using fake US numbers and falsely inform them that their Amazon accounts were linked to drug trafficking, and to instil fear, they threatened the victims with ‘digital arrest’,” the court recorded.
During a raid conducted on May 23, the cyber police found 123 employees working in the call centre and seized 64 laptops, 41 mobile phones and several Wi-Fi routers. The victims were coerced into making payments via Amazon gift cards or Bitcoin, which were then encashed and partly converted to cash through hawala and angadiya channels.
The ED investigation revealed that the proceeds of crime were used to fund the call centre’s operations and acquire assets. The order notes that “cash amounting to ₹1.23 crore was seized” while “bank accounts and fixed deposits were frozen under Section 17(1A) of PMLA”. The agency also seized gold, silver and a vehicle during searches.
Citing specific allegations, the court said that accused No 1 Sanjay Vijay More and accused No 2 Ajit Sankar Soni, as partners of Magnatel BPS and Consultant LLP, “knowingly allowed the firm to be used for setting up fraudulent call centres across India from 2021 to 2025”. The order states that More “received money which he used to purchase luxury assets, including a BMW bike, an MG Hector car, and property in the name of his wife”.
The complaint also details the role of co-accused Dilipkumar Hasmukhbhai Patel and Rizvanahemad Mahemudmiya Shaikh, who allegedly facilitated bogus accommodation entries and handled tax compliance for the accused entities. The judge noted that their statements under Section 50 of the PMLA indicated that they “arranged accommodation entries in exchange for cash”.
Rejecting the defence’s contention that some of the accused had no knowledge of the crime, Judge Rote observed, “The prosecution has made out a prima facie case for issuance of process against all the accused. The contention of the accused cannot be accepted at this stage.” The court accordingly directed that “process be issued against accused Nos 1 to 5 for the offence under Section 3 read with Section 70 punishable under Section 4 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002”.