Chandigarh, Feb 20 The Directorate of Enforcement's (ED) Jalandhar Zonal Office has filed a prosecution complaint (charge sheet) against five accused in connection with a money laundering probe linked to the digital arrest fraud involving industrialist S.P. Oswal.
According to an official statement issued on Friday, the charge sheet has been filed under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) before the Special PMLA Court in Jalandhar on February 19.
The accused named in the complaint include Rumi Kalita, Arpit Rathore, Anand Chaudhary, Atanu Chaudhary and his firm, M/s Frozenman Warehousing & Logistics.
The ED initiated its investigation based on an FIR registered by the Cyber Crime Police Station, Ludhiana, under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNSS), 2023.
Investigations revealed that during the digital arrest, fraudsters impersonating officers of the Central Bureau of Investigation allegedly extorted Rs 7 crore from Oswal.
The proceeds of crime were initially credited into the bank accounts of M/s Rigglo Ventures Private Limited and M/s Frozenman Warehousing & Logistics. The account of M/s Frozenman Warehousing & Logistics was allegedly controlled by Kalita of Guwahati and Rathore of Kanpur.
The ED further found that proceeds of crime generated from eight other cybercrime cases were also routed into the account of M/s Frozenman Warehousing & Logistics on August 28, 2024.
According to the ED, the accused used an APK application named ‘AMMFORWARD’ to swiftly route the proceeds of crime. Rathore allegedly provided multiple mule bank accounts to individuals based in Cambodia, Vietnam and other countries and received commissions in the form of virtual digital assets (cryptocurrency) credited to his Binance account.
The funds were subsequently transferred in a systematic manner to multiple mule accounts to conceal their origin. A portion of the proceeds was layered through shell entities and remitted abroad using trade-based money laundering mechanisms.
The remaining funds were split into smaller amounts ranging between Rs 2 lakh and Rs 5 lakh and transferred to various mule accounts, from which cash was immediately withdrawn. The cash was then used to acquire virtual digital assets, which were credited to accounts of foreign nationals after deducting commission.
Investigators said these mule accounts were opened by luring economically vulnerable individuals with false promises of loans or employment.
Earlier, the ED had issued a provisional attachment order attaching properties worth Rs 1.76 crore.
Searches were conducted on December 22, December 31 and January 31 in connection with the case. Kalita was arrested on December 23, 2025, while Rathore was arrested on December 31, 2025. Both are currently in judicial custody.
The ED said further investigation in the case is ongoing.
Disclaimer: This post has been auto-published from an agency feed without any modifications to the text and has not been reviewed by an editor