ED arrests key agent in Rs 400-cr investment scam

The Enforcement Directorate (ED), Chandigarh Zonal Office, has arrested Harinder Pal Singh, under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002, in connection with the large-scale investment fraud carried out through the QFX/YFX/Botbro platforms. The agency has already seized proceeds of crime worth Rs 400 crore in this case.

Head of the “Singh Brothers Team”, Singh was produced before the Special Court under the PMLA in Chandigarh. The court remanded him to nine-day ED custody.

The ED investigation was initiated on the basis of multiple FIRs registered across Himachal Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and other states under IPC Sections 120-B, 406 and 420, 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, who is currently operating from Dubai — mobilised hundreds of crores of rupees through an unregulated deposit scheme, luring investors with the promise of five to six percent 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. He was arrested on September 17.

Earlier, the ED had carried out searches under Section 17 of the 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.

Reaffirming its commitment to crack down on fraudulent investment syndicates, the ED urged the public to remain vigilant against deceptive MLM and unauthorised forex trading schemes, warning that offers of abnormally high returns are classic signs of fraud. Citizens have been advised to verify the legitimacy of investment schemes and report suspicious activities to law enforcement authorities.

Further investigation is in progress to trace remaining proceeds of crime, identify other agents and bring the masterminds operating from foreign jurisdictions to justice.