Warrant issued against 2 men accused of being part of call centre scam targeting US citizens

Mumbai, Oct 21 (PTI) A Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) court here has issued non-bailable warrants against two men accused of being part of a racket which extorted at least Rs 127 crore from US citizens.

In separate orders passed on October 15, judge R B Rote noted that accused Ketav Ravani and Karan Singh Shekhawat appeared to be evading arrest.

The PMLA case stems from an FIR registered by the Pune Cyber Police Station in May 2025 against Ravani, Shekhawat and several others.

The case involved a sophisticated cyber fraud operation allegedly run from a building in Pune under the firm name "Magnatel BPS and Consultants LLP." As per the charge-sheet filed by police, the fraudsters sent pre-recorded voicemails to US citizens, claiming that their Amazon accounts were being misused for drug trafficking. The victims were then coerced into sending money, often in Bitcoin, gold, gift cards or UPS delivered packages.

The Enforcement Directorate which registered a money laundering case on the basis of the police FIR claimed that the proceeds of the extortion racket were converted into Indian currency through hawala channels in Gujarat.

The central agency identified Ketav Ajay Ravani as an alleged key person at the call centre in Pune, closely associated with co-accused Shekhawat.

The ED lawyer told the court that the accused were not appearing before the agency, and their questioning was necessary to "trace and unearth the proceeds of crime." Accepting the plea, the court held that it was necessary to issue a non-bailable warrant against the accused "in the interest of proper and effective investigation into the serious economic offence." PTI AVI KRK