Kolkata/Prayagraj: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has attached assets worth Rs 3.72 crore — yaani about Rs 3.7 crore — in a fake call centre case in which elderly citizens in the United Kingdom were allegedly targeted, the agency said. The provisional attachment order was issued on October 23, 2026 by the ED's Allahabad Sub-Zonal Office in Prayagraj under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002, NationPress reported.

Source: NationPress — ED attaches Rs 3.72 crore assets in Kolkata fake call centre UK fraud case

The attached assets cover a residential flat and a plot in Kolkata, amounts held in bank accounts and insurance policies. They amount to roughly half of the total proceeds of crime — quantified at about Rs 7 crore — allegedly generated by the primary accused, Anik Dutta, and an associate through the scheme, NationPress reported. These are allegations under investigation, not court findings.

Source: NationPress — ED attaches Rs 3.72 crore assets in Kolkata fake call centre UK fraud case

According to the ED, the accused ran fraudulent call centres under two entities — Glowbird Consultancy Private Limited in Ranchi and, subsequently, Jubilate Info Private Limited in Gorakhpur. Employees were trained to impersonate representatives of BT Openreach, using fictitious foreign names and targeting elderly UK nationals in particular, NationPress reported.

Source: NationPress — ED attaches Rs 3.72 crore assets in Kolkata fake call centre UK fraud case

Victims were persuaded to download remote-access software, specifically AnyDesk and Quick Assist, ostensibly to improve their internet speeds. Once access was gained, banking credentials and device details were extracted, and victims were falsely told their connections had been compromised in a cyberattack and that a case had been registered with UK Action Fraud; 'senior supervisors' posing as Action Fraud officials then pressured them into transferring money to accounts controlled by the accused, the ED said, according to NationPress.

Source: NationPress — ED attaches Rs 3.72 crore assets in Kolkata fake call centre UK fraud case

Proceeds were routed out of India through international money transfer services including Western Union and MoneyGram, and via hawala channels, to Bangladesh and Thailand as well as being retained domestically, NationPress reported. Daily Kiran reported the investigation was initiated on the basis of an FIR and charge sheet filed by the cyber crime police station in Gorakhpur, with charges brought against Dutta, Akash Gupta, Aditya Mishra and others under the Indian Penal Code.

Source: Daily Kiran — ED seizes Rs 3.72 crore in fake call center scam targeting UK citizens