Hyderabad: The Directorate of Enforcement (ED), Hyderabad Zonal Office conducted search operations on January 3 under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002 at a premise in Hyderabad related to a conman, Sandeep Desai.
Searches conducted at the residential premises of the said alleged conman led to the recovery and seizure of multiple SIM cards and mobile phones used by the conman to entice and extort money from persons facing ED investigation.
ED, Hyderabad Zonal Office, had earlier conducted search operations on 19 December under the provisions of PMLA, 2002 at two premises in Hyderabad related to CSK Realtors Ltd. and Singh Mansions Pvt. Ltd.
ED investigation revealed that based on the press release of the said search on December 19, conman Sandeep Desai contacted Suresh Kumar Agarwal, managing director of CSK Realtors and tried to extort money from him in the name of ED officers.
The conman, Sandeep Desai, used three different mobile numbers to contact Suresh Kumar Agarwal through WhatsApp and falsely projected himself as a senior ED officer.
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He convinced Suresh Kumar Agarwal to meet him at a five-star hotel in Hyderabad and during the meeting introduced himself as ‘Rakesh’ and a cousin/friend of an ED officer. The conman allegedly demanded a hefty sum from Suresh Kumar Agarwal and offered to help him in the ongoing PMLA investigation against CSK Realtors through his contacts.
Based on information received regarding the above modus operandi, Suresh Kumar Agarwal was encouraged by the ED officers to file a written complaint. Based on the complaint, swift action was initiated by the ED officers and the said conman was identified through CCTV footage and surveillance and his whereabouts were ascertained.
Subsequently, search operations were conducted at his residential premises from where various SIM cards and mobile phones used by him were seized.
In his statement recorded during the investigation, the said conman, Sandeep Desai, admitted that he tried to extort money from Suresh Kumar Agarwal in the name of ED officers by falsely projecting his association with them.
Further investigation into the case is under progress.
