ED attaches assets worth 39L linked to Jayasurya

Kochi: The Enforcement Directorate (ED), Kochi zonal office, provisionally attached assets worth Rs 39.01 lakh, including immovable property linked to actor Jayasurya, in connection with a money laundering case against Swadiq Rahim, managing D of Save Box Concepts Pvt Ltd, in an alleged investor fraud.The property was attached by invoking provisions of Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002. It is learnt that the actor received payment from Rahim to become a brand ambassador for the investment scheme. The ED initiated its investigation based on four FIRs registered by Thrissur city East police station against Rahim and others under various sections of IPC, 1860. According to ED, Rahim allegedly cheated multiple investors by inducing them to invest in the company with promises of lucrative returns, issuance of company shares, partnerships, or franchises linked to an online bidding application and related ventures. The agency stated that the company, which projected itself as India's first bidding application and was later linked to cryptocurrency trading, collected investments from the public but failed to honour its commitments. Operations allegedly closed by late 2022, following multiple criminal complaints. The probe revealed that proceeds of crime amounting to approximately Rs 39.01 lakh, relating to four specific complainants after partial refunds, were generated through cheating and subsequently layered or diverted for various purposes, including celebrity brand endorsements, cryptocurrency trading losses, personal expenses and other utilizations. ED further said probe is under way.