From Rolexes to Supercars: What ED Found in Rs 100-Crore Call Centre Scam Raids in Delhi-NCR

The Enforcement Directorate has arrested a key accused in a large-scale illegal call centre scam that targeted US nationals and allegedly siphoned off about $15 million through tech support fraud. The Directorate of Enforcement (ED) said its Gurugram zonal office arrested Chandra Prakash Gupta on December 13 under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002. A special PMLA court in Gurugram has remanded Gupta to ED custody until December 24.Gupta is accused of playing a central role in fraudulent tech support operations that impersonated technical service providers. He had been absconding since July 2024 after raids conducted by the Central Bureau of Investigation, following which a non-bailable warrant was issued against him, the ED said.The

money laundering probe was launched on the basis of a CBI FIR registered in Delhi under provisions of the Indian Penal Code and the Information Technology Act.

As part of the investigation, the ED carried out searches at 10 locations across the Delhi-NCR region on December 19 and 20, targeting alleged masterminds and associates linked to the scam. The searches led to the seizure of jewellery worth about Rs 1.75 crore, cash exceeding Rs 10 lakh, four high-end vehicles, eight luxury watches, digital devices and several incriminating documents.Officials also recovered more than 220 bottles of premium liquor from multiple premises, far exceeding permissible residential limits. The matter was reported to the state excise department, which registered separate FIRs. Three other key accused, Arjun Gulati, Abhinav Kalra and Divyansh Goel, are currently absconding, the agency said.The probe revealed that illegal call centres were operated from Noida and Gurugram, where employees targeted US citizens using deceptive pop-up alerts designed to resemble Microsoft security warnings. Victims were persuaded to call phone numbers displayed on their screens and were falsely told their computers had been compromised.

The accused allegedly convinced victims to install remote access software such as TeamViewer or AnyDesk, giving them control of the systems and access to sensitive personal and banking information. Victims were then induced to transfer money via wire transfers to accounts falsely claimed to be linked to the US Federal Reserve, officials said.The proceeds were routed to bank accounts in Hong Kong, converted into cryptocurrency, and later brought back into India through multiple shell entities. The ED said assets worth more than Rs 100 crore, allegedly bought using the proceeds of crime, have been identified so far.Further investigation is ongoing.