The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has detected Chinese role in part-time jobs fraud case of Bengaluru as it conducted searches on 12 entities and seized ₹5.85 crore under Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002.
ED investigation revealed that gullible public, mostly youth, were cheated by some Chinese persons through a mobile App namely “Keepsharer” that promised them part time jobs and collected money from them in lieu of that. "These Chinese persons formed companies in India and recruited many Indians as directors, translators, HR managers, and tele callers. They obtained the documents of Indian persons and opened bank accounts using their documents," the ED alleged.
The ED initiated money laundering investigation on the basis of an FIR on a part-time job fraud registered in South CEN Police Station, Bengaluru City.
Scammed through an app
"The accused Chinese persons developed a mobile app in the name of “Keepsharer” and started its advertisement through WhatsApp and Telegram by offering part-time job opportunity to the youth. This app was linked with an investment app. For registration on this app, they collected money from youth. Further, they collected money from public in the name of investment through this app," the ED stated.
The youth were tasked to like the videos of celebrities and upload them on social media. When the task was completed, they used to pay 20 per video to each person and that would be credited in the “Keepsharer” wallet, the agency revealed. For some time, money got credited in their wallets, but later on, the app was removed from the play store. Thus, public was cheated, with overall investment amounts and the remuneration to be paid running into crores of rupees, the ED pointed out.
The ED stated the money collected through scam was routed from the bank accounts of some Bengaluru-based companies and then converted into crypto currency for wiring to China-based crypto exchanges. All the transactions were under control of Chinese persons through phone and WhatsApp groups. The Bengaluru police had filed a chargesheet against 92 accused persons, which included six Chinese and Taiwanese nationals.