₹640 Crore Cyber Fraud Case: SC Rejects Anticipatory Bail for CA, Orders Surrender in 10 Days

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Chartered Accountant Implicated in ₹640 Crore Cyber-Enabled Financial Scam Denied Anticipatory Bail

A chartered accountant implicated in a ₹640 crore cyber-enabled financial scam has been denied anticipatory bail by the Supreme Court, which has ordered him to surrender to investigators within 10 days.

Allegations and Investigation

The accused, Bhaskar Yadav, is alleged to have played a key role in a complex money-laundering operation that involved the siphoning of funds from unsuspecting victims and the subsequent layering of transactions to conceal the origin of the money.

The High Court had described the case as an “intricate mesh” of laundering of proceeds of crime, and observed that the accused’s profession as a chartered accountant had enabled him to engineer multi-layered fund movements to evade detection.

The investigation into the scam, which is being conducted by the Enforcement Directorate, has revealed that the accused had used a network of chartered accountants, company secretaries, and cryptocurrency traders to launder the illicit proceeds.

Part of the defrauded money was withdrawn in cash in Dubai using debit and credit cards linked to Indian bank accounts, indicating a cross-border movement of funds.

Attempts to Influence the Probe

The Enforcement Directorate has alleged that the accused had attempted to influence the probe by assaulting investigating officers, bribing local police to settle complaints, and destroying electronic evidence.

These allegations, combined with the scale and complexity of the transactions, had led the High Court to conclude that custodial interrogation was necessary to unravel the layers of the financial operation.

Cryptocurrency Transactions

The High Court had clarified that cryptocurrency transactions are not illegal in India and attract only tax liability, but emphasized that the present case involved the fraudulent extraction of money from investors, largely from the middle class, followed by complex laundering channels designed to obscure the money trail.

Implications of the Supreme Court’s Decision

The Supreme Court’s decision has significant implications for the investigation, as it paves the way for the Enforcement Directorate to conduct a thorough interrogation of the accused and unravel the complex web of transactions.

The accused’s surrender is likely to shed more light on the modus operandi of the scam and the extent of the financial losses incurred by the victims.