Kohima, March 17 (IANS) The Enforcement Directorate's (ED) Dimapur Sub Zonal Office has provisionally attached 94 bank accounts involving proceeds of crime worth approximately Rs 10.24 crore in connection with the HPZ Token investment scam, officials said on Tuesday.
The attachment was carried out under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002, as part of the agency’s ongoing investigation into the alleged large-scale cyber-enabled financial fraud.
Officials said the latest action is part of the ED’s continued crackdown on the fraudulent investment scheme that allegedly duped investors across the country by promising high returns through the HPZ Token app.
The investigation was initiated on the basis of an FIR registered by the Cyber Crime Police Station in Kohima under various sections of the Indian Penal Code against HPZ Token and others. The probe also incorporates related FIRs registered by the CID Police Station in Ulubari, Guwahati, and a case registered by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in Delhi.
According to the ED, the scam involved inducing unsuspecting investors to invest in the HPZ Token mobile application on the promise of lucrative returns. The agency said the investigation has revealed the use of numerous mule bank accounts, shell companies and dummy directors to layer and divert the proceeds of crime.
Tracing the financial trail, investigators found that funds from investors were initially collected through multiple UPI IDs linked to mule accounts maintained with a private bank. The money was later transferred through various shell entities and routed via payment aggregator platforms such as PayU, Razorpay, and Easebuzz.
Officials said a portion of the funds was cycled back to investors in the initial stages to create a false impression of legitimacy and attract more investments.
Further investigation has revealed a network of shell entities and mule accounts allegedly controlled by the key accused, Bhupesh Arora, along with his father, Gulshan Arora and other associates. These entities include companies such as Dig India Marketing, AnalytIQ Business Ventures Private Limited, Freebie Solutions Private Limited, Truvinta Solutions Private Limited, Zavion Trading Private Limited, and Sark Enroll System Private Limited.
According to the ED, the total proceeds of crime identified in the case are around Rs 2,200 crore. Of this, assets worth about Rs 662 crore have been attached so far.
The latest probe also led to the identification of 94 additional mule bank accounts with balances totalling around Rs 10.24 crore, which have now been attached under the present provisional attachment order.
The agency said a prosecution complaint has already been filed before the Special PMLA Court in Dimapur, and the case is currently under trial, while further investigation is underway.
--IANS
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