ED seized Rs 5 Crores from part-time job firms controlled by Chinese Nationals

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has seized Rs 5.85 crore during raids at 12 job-providing entities in Bengaluru in an alleged money laundering case. The investigation under Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) revealed six citizens of China and Taiwan who controlled the job entities and 92 people were accused in the alleged job scam.

The agency had initiated a money laundering investigation based on an FIR registered by the Cybercrime, Economic offences and Narcotics (CEN) police in Bengaluru alleging fraud through false promises of providing part-time jobs.

The Chinese citizens cheated people seeking jobs through an app named ‘Keepsharer’, and transferred the money collected through it to China-based crypto exchanges. The app was linked to another investment app and was available on PlayStore. The firms hired locals as HR Managers, Directors, and Telecallers.

The ED said, “The youth were given the task of liking the videos of celebrities and uploading them on social media. When the task was completed, they used to pay Rs 20 per video and that would be credited in the ‘Keepsharer’ wallet. For some time, money got credited in their wallet, and later on, the app was removed from the Play Store. Thus, the public was cheated of their investment amount and the remuneration to be paid which ran into crores of rupees.”

The money collected through the app was then routed from the bank accounts of some Bengaluru-based companies, converted into cryptocurrency, and then transferred to China-based cryptocurrency exchanges. All the transactions were under the control of Chinese nationals through phone and WhatsApp groups.