All eyes are on the ICAI's response as the regulator after two chartered accountants were arrested in a Rs 640 crore cyber fraud.

Two chartered accountants (CAs) and a cryptocurrency dealer have been arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in relation to a Rs 640 crore money laundering case that resulted from an inquiry into cyber fraud. The arrests were made as part of a nationwide investigation that involved numerous raids.

A fourth person was also arrested for allegedly fighting and delaying ED authorities during the search operation. He was the brother of a fugitive CA whose farmhouse in Bijwasan, southwest Delhi, was raided on November 28.

Raids and Seizures Across the Nation
Between November 28 and 30, the ED searched 13 addresses in Delhi, Gurugram, Jodhpur, Jhunjhunu, Hyderabad, Pune, and Kolkata. As a result of these operations, Rs 47 lakh in mysterious cash and Rs 1.3 crore worth of cryptocurrency were seized.

The Delhi Police's Economic Offences Wing (EOW) filed two FIRs alleging a large cyber fraud of Rs 640 crore, which is the basis for the probe. Online gaming, gambling, part-time job promises, and phishing tactics targeting gullible people were all part of the hoax.

Advanced Network for Money Laundering
It is believed that more than 5,000 "mule" bank accounts in India were used to siphon off the spoils of the crime. Prior to being posted onto PYYPL, a payment platform based in the United Arab Emirates, these money were stacked through a number of transactions. Debit and credit cards provided by Indian banks were used to withdraw a sizable amount of the illicit funds in Dubai.

In order to launder the illegal proceeds, the ED discovered a well-organized network of cryptocurrency traders, company secretaries, and chartered accountants. Jitendra Kaswan, a bitcoin trader, and two chartered accountants, Ajay and Vipin Yadav, were arrested during the searches.

Organized Operations and Digital Evidence
The investigation found that handlers based overseas were involved in a massive money-laundering scheme. These handlers exchanged instructions for creating mule accounts, moving money, and buying cryptocurrencies over encrypted instant chat groups.

We have retrieved and are analyzing more than 2,000 documents that show debit and credit transactions across hundreds of bank accounts and bitcoin purchases.

Getting in the way of raids
The brother of the suspected mastermind CA Ashok Kumar Sharma, Radhe Shyam Sharma, was taken into custody for physically attacking and obstructing ED officers during the raid at a Bijwasan farmhouse. Incriminating documents, checkbooks, ATM cards, PAN cards, digital signatures, and trust words used to run hidden cryptocurrency wallets were also seized during the operation.

Continued Research
The ED's investigation has shown a well-coordinated network that uses technological and financial know-how to continue cybercrime and launder its profits. In an effort to expose the entire scope of the fraud and hold everyone accountable, authorities are still examining the evidence that has been recovered.

This instance demonstrates the increasing difficulties brought about by the combination of technology and financial specialists in complex

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