Shillong, May 9 The Directorate of Enforcement, Shillong Sub-Zonal Office, has provisionally attached movable properties worth Rs 1.06 crore in connection with the “Global Media App” fraud case involving alleged large-scale cheating of investors through an online earning and investment scheme, officials said on Saturday.
The Enforcement Directorate initiated the probe under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002, based on a First Information Report registered at Madanriting Police Station in Meghalaya’s East Khasi Hills district over allegations of fraud linked to the mobile application named “Global Media App”.
According to investigators, the accused persons operated the application as a Ponzi-style investment scheme disguised as an online advertising platform that promised users daily passive income for watching advertisement videos.
Officials said users were persuaded to purchase various VIP membership plans by paying substantial amounts in exchange for assurances of high daily returns and referral commissions.
The Enforcement Directorate investigation found that the application was promoted extensively through a Telegram channel administered using foreign mobile numbers.
Funds from investors were allegedly collected through bank transfers, Unified Payments Interface transactions, and cryptocurrency wallets.
The fraudulent scheme reportedly remained operational between June 3, 2022, and October 12, 2022, before the operators abruptly shut down the application and disappeared with the collected funds.
Officials said the investigation has so far established that proceeds of crime amounting to nearly Rs 45.33 crore were generated through the scheme.
Multiple bank accounts, merchant identification accounts, payment gateway accounts, and crypto wallets have been identified as allegedly used for the collection and layering of funds.
The Enforcement Directorate further revealed that the fraud had significant international links.
The Telegram channel promoting the app was allegedly administered by four individuals using mobile numbers registered in Cambodia and Malaysia, while the Gmail accounts linked to the app’s backend operations were registered with Cambodia as the terms-of-service country.
Investigators also traced nearly Rs 2.45 crore collected from victims in the form of Tether cryptocurrency routed through the TRON blockchain network to accounts on a foreign cryptocurrency exchange.
Further investigation is underway, officials added.
--IANS
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