The Delhi High Court on Monday refused to grant anticipatory bail to two chartered accountants—Bhaskar Yadav and Ashok Kumar Sharma—accused of laundering proceeds from a ₹640 crore cyber fraud scheme. Justice Girish Kathpalia, in a detailed 22-page judgment, dismissed their pre-arrest bail pleas, emphasising the necessity of custodial interrogation given the complexity and scale of the alleged financial crime.
The court observed that the accused, leveraging their professional expertise, had allegedly structured layered transactions to obscure the trail of illicit funds. “The accused/applicants, being skilled professionals, have allegedly crafted laundering of proceeds of crime across multiple layers, and to unearth the same, I find substance in the submission of learned counsel for the Directorate of Enforcement (ED) that custodial interrogation is much required,” the court said.
While acknowledging that dealing in cryptocurrency is not illegal per se, Justice Kathpalia clarified that the present case involves fraudulent schemes and manipulation of crypto assets to mask criminal proceeds. The fraud, the court noted, had preyed upon the “basic desire” of middle-class investors to grow their savings, a vulnerability that was cynically exploited.
The court also highlighted troubling allegations of interference with the investigation, including reports that the accused had assaulted investigating officers, bribed local police officials to suppress cyber fraud complaints, and attempted to destroy electronic evidence.
“There is no material on the basis whereof this court can satisfy itself that there are reasonable grounds for believing that the accused/applicants are not guilty of the offences they are charged with and/or they are not likely to commit any offence while on bail,” the order stated, dismissing the bail applications.
The judge stressed that while individual liberty is a core constitutional value, it must be weighed against the need for a thorough investigation in cases with serious economic implications.
The money laundering case arises from two FIRs lodged by the Delhi Police’s Economic Offences Wing (EOW), which investigated fraudulent schemes involving online betting, fake part-time jobs, gambling, and phishing. According to the Enforcement Directorate, more than ₹640 crore was siphoned from unsuspecting investors using over 5,000 “mule” bank accounts.
Funds were reportedly layered and moved through various channels before being uploaded onto the UAE-based payment platform PYYPL. Some of the illicit money was withdrawn in Dubai using debit and credit cards issued by Indian banks, the agency revealed.
The ED alleges that a broader criminal syndicate was at work, comprising chartered accountants, company secretaries, and cryptocurrency traders, all collaborating to disguise the origins of the money and facilitate its movement across jurisdictions.
The case continues to unfold as the ED intensifies its investigation into the transnational laundering network and the professionals allegedly involved in it.
