According to the agency, the accused was arrested on Tuesday under the provisions of PMLA 2002 and produced before the competent court that has granted her custody to the ED till Thursday, for further investigation.
Photo: IANS
The Directorate of Enforcement (ED) conducted search operations at multiple locations in Delhi and Mumbai on Tuesday and Wednesday as part of an ongoing probe against Sandeepa Virk, who allegedly defrauded people by soliciting money under pretences through misrepresentation.
According to the agency, the accused was arrested on Tuesday under the provisions of PMLA 2002 and produced before the competent court that has granted her custody to the ED till Thursday, for further investigation.
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The anti-money laundering agency initiated investigation against the accused based on an FIR registered by the Police Station Phase-8, SAS Nagar, Punjab, under Sections 406 and 420 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860.
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The ED probe revealed that an she allegedly acquired immovable property in her name by false cheating with promises. However, she claimed to be the owner of hyboocare.com, a website purportedly selling FDA-approved beauty products, the agency said.
As per the probe by the ED, the products listed on the site have been found to be non-existent, while the website lacks a user registration option and is plagued by persistent payment gateway issues.
Scrutiny of the website by the agency uncovered minimal social media engagement, an inactive communication platform contact number, and an absence of transparent organizational details, all of which reinforce the finding of non-genuine commercial activity.
These factors including limited product range, inflated pricing, false claims of FDA approval, and technical inconsistencies, indicate that the website serves as a front for laundering funds, the agency probe points out.
The ED has claimed that one person with whom she was allegedly in touch with was Angarai Natarajan Sethuraman, a former director of an erstwhile financial services company Reliance Capital.
The agency alleged that back in 2018, a large sum of public money belonging to RCFL was disbursed to Sethuraman by flouting prudent lending norms. However, Sethuraman said the allegations are entirely baseless. He added that the home loan he received from Reliance Capital was granted following due process and was secured by the property offered as collateral.
He vehemently denied any connection or involvement with Sandeepa Virk or any transactions related to her.
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