Agency Recovers 19 Kg Gold Worth ₹ 14 Crore From Cyber Fraudster In….

New Delhi : The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has seized 19.5 kg of gold valued at ₹ 14.04 crore from the locker of a cyber fraudster maintained in the name of his mother with the Ballabgarh branch of Indian Bank in Haryana’s Faridabad on May 3, said an official on Monday.The financial probe agency said the fraudster, identified as Punit Kumar a.k.a Puneet Maheshwari, a resident of Moti Nagar in the national capital, was arrested on April 3 from the Arrival Hall, Terminal-3 of IGI Airport.”He was produced before the Delhi PMLA Court on the same day and granted ED custody for 12 days and is presently under judicial custody,” said the senior ED official. The seizure follows specific intelligence indicating that Punit Kumar has hidden the proceeds of cybercrimes in the form of gold in a locker held at Indian Bank under his mother’s name.Additionally, previous searches conducted under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002, at 14 locations in February and March 2024 resulted in the confiscation of various assets.These include foreign-made gold bars totaling eight kg valued at ₹ 5.04 crore found at Punit Kumar’s premises, cash amounting to ₹ 75 lakh, jewellery, high-end luxury watches, luxury vehicles like Mercedes, Audi, and Kia, along with incriminating documents and electronic devices containing evidence.These actions are part of a money laundering scheme involving foreign-based online gaming companies exploiting Indian residents.