The Directorate of Enforcement (ED) in Chennai has arrested two men, Roshan Fiaz and Ammar, for their involvement in online fraud and cryptocurrency laundering. The arrests, made on October 30, 2026, were carried out under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002. The ED's investigation was triggered by two FIRs registered by the Tamil Nadu Police and another by the Cyberabad Police in Telangana, citing violations under the Bhartiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) 2023 and the Information Technology Act.
The fraudsters targeted victims through social media, offering fake investment schemes, job opportunities, and share market investments. Once the money was defrauded, it was laundered through a network of mule bank accounts and converted into the cryptocurrency USDT for further transfers. The ED uncovered over 600 cybercrime complaints linked to this network, with total swindled amounts exceeding ₹400 crore.
Roshan Fiaz and Ammar, along with their associates, devised a complex system to divert and layer the proceeds of crime through multiple mule accounts before converting them into cryptocurrency. Earlier searches conducted by the ED under Section 17 of the PMLA led to the seizure of ₹14.5 lakh in cash, cryptocurrency worth ₹3.26 crore, and the freezing of ₹88.28 lakh in various bank accounts.