New Delhi: A team of the Directorate of Enforcement (ED) conducted a two-day search operations ending Wednesday at multiple locations here and Mumbai and arrested social media influencer Sandeepa Virk for allegedly defrauding individuals by soliciting money under false pretences.
According to the agency, she was arrested on Tuesday under the provisions of PMLA, 2002 and produced before the competent court which has granted custody to the ED till Thursday, for further investigation.
The anti-money laundering agency launched an investigation on the basis of an FIR registered by Police Station Phase-8, SAS Nagar, Punjab, under Sections 406 (criminal breach of trust) and 420 (cheating) of the Indian Penal Code, 1860.
An ED probe revealed that an individual allegedly acquired immovable property in her name by making false promises and cheating, while she claimed to be the owner of hyboocare.com, a website purportedly selling FDA-approved beauty products, the agency said.
As per the probe by the ED, the products listed on the site have been found to be non-existent, while the website lacks a user registration option and is plagued by persistent payment gateway issues.
Scrutiny of the website by the agency uncovered minimal social media engagement, an inactive communication platform contact number, and an absence of transparent organisational details, all of which reinforce the conclusion of online fraud.
Other factors which include limited product range, inflated pricing, false claims of FDA approval, and several technical inconsistencies, indicate that the website serves as a front for laundering funds, the agency probe points out.
ED has claimed that one person with whom she was allegedly in touch with was Angarai Natarajan Sethuraman, a former director of an erstwhile financial services company Reliance Capital.
The agency alleged that back in 2018, a large sum of public money belonging to RCFL was disbursed to Sethuraman by flouting prudent lending norms.
However, Sethuraman has said that the allegations are entirely baseless.
Sethuraman has also said that the home loan he received from Reliance Capital was granted following due process and was secured by the property offered as collateral.
He has firmly denied any connection or involvement with Sandeepa Virk or any transactions related to her.
