ED searches conducted at the residential premises of the said conman led to the recovery & seizure of multiple SIM cards and mobile phones used by the conman to entice & extort money from persons

Metro India News | Hyderabad 

Directorate of Enforcement (ED), Hyderabad Zonal Office, has conducted search operations on January 3, 2025 under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002 at a premise in Hyderabad related to a conman Sandeep Desai.

Searches conducted at the residential premises of the said conman led to the recovery & seizure of multiple SIM cards and mobile phones used by the conman to entice & extort money from persons facing ED investigation.

ED, Hyderabad Zonal Office had earlier conducted search operations on December 19, 2024 under the provisions of PMLA, 2002 at two premises in Hyderabad related to Messrs CSK Realtors Ltd.

and Messrs Singh Mansions Pvt. Ltd. ED investigation revealed that based on the press release of the said search dated December 19, 2024, conman Sandeep Desai contacted Suresh Kumar Agarwal, Managing Director of Messrs CSK Realtors and tried to extort money from him in the name of ED officers.

The conman Sandeep Desai used three different mobile numbers to contact Suresh Kumar Agarwal through Whatsapp and falsely projected himself as senior ED officers. He convinced Suresh Kumar Agarwal to meet him at a 5-star hotel in Hyderabad and during the meeting introduced himself as ‘Rakesh’ and a cousin / friend of an ED officer.

The conman demanded a hefty sum from Suresh Kumar Agarwal and offered to help him in the ongoing PMLA investigation against Messrs CSK Realtors through his contact with ED officers.

On the basis of information received regarding the above modus operandi, Suresh Kumar Agarwal was encouraged by the ED officers to file a written complaint. Based on the complaint, swift action was initiated by the ED officers and the conman was identified through CCTV footage & surveillance and his whereabouts were ascertained. Subsequently, search operations were conducted at his residential premises from where various SIM cards and mobile phones used by him were seized.

In his statement recorded during the course of investigation, the said conman, Sandeep Desai, admitted that he tried to extort money from Suresh Kr. Agarwal in the name of ED officers by falsely projecting his association with them.