ED arrests key agent in Rs 400-crore investment scam

The Directorate of Enforcement (ED), Chandigarh Zonal Office, has arrested Harinder Pal Singh, one of the main agents in India, under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), in connection with the large-scale investment fraud carried out through the QFX/YFX/Botbro platforms.

Harinder Pal Singh, head of the “Singh Brothers Team”, was produced before the Special Court under PMLA, Chandigarh, which remanded him to nine-day ED custody for interrogation.

The ED investigation was initiated on the basis of multiple FIRs registered across Himachal Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and other states under Sections 120B, 406 and 420 of IPC, alleging that QFX group of companies and their agents defrauded thousands of investors by promising assured monthly returns through purported forex trading schemes.

According to the probe, the syndicate—masterminded by Navab alias Lavish Chaudhary, currently operating from Dubai—mobilised hundreds of crores of rupees through an unregulated deposit scheme, luring investors with the promise of 5–6% monthly returns.

The funds were collected in India through a network of top agents, layered via multiple shell companies and payment gateways to conceal their origin.

Investigators also found that the fraudulent platforms kept changing names every few months to attract new investors. Singh emerged as a vital conduit between the India-based agents’ network and the Dubai-based masterminds, leading to his arrest on September 17.

Earlier, ED had carried out searches under Section 17 of PMLA on February 11, 2025, and July 4, 2025, across multiple locations in India, resulting in the seizure/attachment of Proceeds of Crime (POC) worth Rs 400 crore.

Further investigation is under way to trace remaining POC, identify additional agents, and bring the masterminds operating from foreign jurisdictions to justice, the agency said.