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ED Raids About 10 Sites in West Bengal in Probe of Alleged Illegal Call-Centre Network

Investigators are using PMLA powers to track suspected proceeds of a call-centre fraud.

Overview

  • Searches covered roughly 10 premises in Siliguri, Howrah, Bidhannagar and Durgapur the day after West Bengal’s poll dates were announced.
  • ED teams examined digital devices, financial records and documents to trace transactions and identify those running the operation.
  • Premises linked to Surashree Kar, Samrat Ghosh and Subhajit Chakraborty were among those searched, according to officials.
  • Officials said numerous people were allegedly duped through the call centres, while any link to political funding remains unconfirmed.
  • One account describes a scheme posing as Microsoft tech support or U.S. Homeland Security, directing payments to U.S. accounts, converting them to cryptocurrency routed abroad and later into Indian currency.