ED Seizes ₹12,229 Crore, Cybercrime Proceeds Reach ₹34,855 Crore Under PMLA

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India’s War on Cyber-Enabled Financial Crime Uncovers Vast Illicit Wealth

A staggering ₹34,855 crore in cybercrime proceeds has been tracked by India’s Enforcement Directorate (ED), underscoring the country’s escalating battle against technology-driven financial offenses. The figures, presented at a national cybercrime investigator training program, reveal the vast scope of illicit money linked to cyber fraud investigations under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).

Illicit Online Activities

The bulk of the laundered funds originated from a range of illicit online activities, including unauthorized betting platforms, cryptocurrency investment scams, predatory instant loan apps, Ponzi schemes, and fake forex and stock trading apps. These operations typically target victims through social media, messaging platforms, and fake trading dashboards, before siphoning off funds through multiple banking and payment layers.

Money Laundering Architecture

According to the ED’s findings, the money laundering architecture relies heavily on mule bank accounts, often opened using stolen or rented identities, and shell companies created solely to receive and route fraudulent money. Payment gateways and merchant accounts are mis-declared to disguise the true nature of transactions, allowing large volumes of funds to pass through the formal financial system undetected.

Once aggregated, the money is diverted through hawala operators, converted into cryptocurrencies, or sent abroad as fake import payments using forged invoices, airway bills, royalty claims, and freight charges. This creates a veneer of legitimate trade while facilitating capital flight.

High-Profile Investigations

The ED has identified over 1,000 mule accounts linked to cybercrime cases, with many masterminds operating remotely from foreign jurisdictions while controlling domestic financial channels through local associates and digital access. Several high-profile investigations have been cited, including the ₹6,000-crore Mahadev betting app case, the ₹5,000-crore OctaFX investment fraud allegedly run by Russian national Pavel Prozorov, the 1XBet illegal betting network, and the Birfa-IT remittance case involving over ₹4,000 crore in suspected laundering through overseas transfers.

Cybercrime as a Major Economic Threat

The ED’s data indicates that cybercrime is no longer a peripheral financial offense but a major organized economic threat, capable of generating tens of thousands of crores and moving them across jurisdictions within hours. As a result, the government has emphasized a multi-agency approach to dismantle the ecosystem enabling cybercrime, including tighter know-your-customer (KYC) norms, enhanced monitoring of payment aggregators, analytics-based detection of mule accounts, and closer scrutiny of cross-border remittances linked to low-value import firms.

Public Awareness and Enforcement

Investigators have also highlighted the critical role of public awareness, noting that most fraud chains begin with social engineering tactics, such as fake investment promises, loan approvals, job offers, or impersonation calls, before escalating into financial theft and laundering. With cyber fraud now accounting for a significant share of money-laundering probes, officials warn that enforcement alone cannot contain the threat.

The ED has attached ₹12,229 crore under the PMLA, marking a significant step in the country’s efforts to combat cyber-enabled financial crime. As India’s war on cybercrime continues, the need for coordinated action between enforcement, banking regulators, telecom operators, and state police units has become increasingly clear.