ED arrests UP agent in Rs 391-crore QFX forex scam

The Enforcement Directorate has arrested UP-based agent Navab Hassan for his alleged role in mobilising thousands of investors and laundering proceeds in the multi-state QFX forex scam. A local court has granted the agency nine days’ custody, officials said on Friday.

According to the officials, Hassan’s arrest under Section 19(1) of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002, is part of a financial crackdown aimed at tracing the entire money trail, unmasking beneficiaries and preventing further layering of illicit funds.

The ED said its Chandigarh zonal office took action on the basis of multiple FIRs registered in Himachal Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Assam. Investigations revealed the scam promised gullible investors monthly returns of 5–6 per cent through robot/AI-bot-based forex trading, but no real trading took place. Instead, dashboards showed notional balances while fresh deposits were diverted to pay earlier investors.

According to the agency, Hassan worked as a senior field leader and built a network of over 10,000 investors under him. He allegedly collected cash and funnelled investments via payment aggregators and later in virtual currencies such as USDT, while coordinating with Dubai-based masterminds led by Lavish Chaudhary, also known as Nawab.

The ED said Hassan admitted that funds collected in India were sent to the UAE for buying properties and luxury spending. He had frequently travelled to Dubai to meet Chaudhary and joined Zoom calls with him to lure new investors. Earlier, searches at his Shamli residence yielded Rs 94.23 lakh of proceeds of crime.

Hassan’s arrest follows the recent detention of top agent Harinder Pal Singh on September 17, who identified him as the leading operative in western Uttar Pradesh. The agency has already attached 45 immovable properties worth Rs 9.49 crore acquired by the accused and his associates.