Kolkata, 04 July (H.S.): The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has filed a prosecution complaint (chargesheet) before a special court under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002 against Kolkata-based IT company VRM Business Services Pvt. Ltd., its director Rajesh Goenka, and other accused in connection with an alleged illegal call centre fraud targeting foreign nationals.

In a statement issued on Saturday, the ED said the company premises were used to operate an illegal call centre through which foreign citizens were allegedly duped of crores of rupees.

The agency said that during the course of the investigation it had earlier seized and frozen movable assets and bank accounts worth Rs 2.35 crore. In addition, immovable properties valued at Rs 11.14 crore were provisionally attached under the provisions of the PMLA.

According to the ED, the money laundering investigation was initiated on the basis of an FIR registered at the Electronics Complex Police Station in Bidhannagar. The complaint alleged that Rajesh Goenka and other accused impersonated representatives of reputed service providers, contacted foreign customers, collected money from them on various pretexts, and failed to provide the promised services.

The investigation revealed that VRM Business Services Pvt. Ltd. and its director Rajesh Goenka had provided the infrastructure required to run the illegal call centre. Employees operating from the premises allegedly cheated foreign nationals by offering fraudulent software-related services.

The ED alleged that the company and its directors generated at least Rs 20.35 crore through the fraudulent operation. The proceeds of crime were allegedly used to purchase jewellery, acquire immovable properties and make other investments. The agency identified Rajesh Goenka and his company as the principal beneficiaries of the proceeds of crime, while the call centre operators and employees also allegedly benefited from the illegal earnings.

According to the ED, the illegal operation functioned in an organised manner under the protection of Rajesh Goenka. The accused allegedly impersonated representatives of reputed multinational companies and contacted foreign nationals through internet-based telephony services. They are accused of using false claims, intimidation and deceptive tactics to persuade victims to make payments for non-existent services such as gift vouchers, technical support and subscription cancellation, thereby causing financial losses to foreign nationals while unlawfully generating crores of rupees.

Hindusthan Samachar / Satya Prakash Singh