ED arrests mastermind in Rs 903-crore Chinese app investment scam

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has arrested Rohit Vij, a key accused and alleged mastermind in a major Chinese app-based investment fraud case, under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).

According to an official, the arrest was made on June 30, and the accused has been remanded to five-day ED custody by a Delhi court.

Subsequent to the arrest, the agency conducted searches at five locations in Delhi linked to Vij, his business entities, and associates. The raids led to the recovery of incriminating documents and identification of proceeds of crime.

The ED probe stems from a 2022 FIR filed by Hyderabad’s Cyber Crime Police, which alleged that Chinese nationals, in collaboration with Indian accomplices, duped investors using a fake investment app named LOXAM. The app falsely claimed to be associated with a reputed French multinational group and lured victims with promises of abnormally high returns.

According to the ED, the fraudulently collected funds were first routed to a shell company, Xindai Technologies Pvt Ltd, created under the name of an Indian national but operated on the instructions of a Chinese handler known as Jack. The money was further moved through 38 mule bank accounts and later converted into foreign currency.

Rohit Vij is accused of using shell money changer firms — Ranjan Moneycorp Pvt Ltd and KDS Forex Pvt Ltd — to launder the funds into US dollars and UAE dirhams. "These funds were then sent to the Chinese fraudsters through hawala networks and intermediaries," the official said.

While Rs 171.47 crore was routed through Xindai Technologies and laundered via the two forex firms, ED’s analysis revealed that a total of Rs 903 crore in tainted money was converted into foreign currency through the same network in just seven months.