New Delhi, Jul 2 (IANS): The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has arrested Shahnavaz Ahmad Jilani and his accomplices, Vipin Sharma and Viraj Singh, in connection with a Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) case related to cheating foreign nationals by falsely promising them loans at lower interest rates.

The accused have allegedly cheated foreign nationals out of a total of Rs 54 crore.All the accused were produced before a special PMLA court, which remanded them to ED custody until July 5.

According to sources, the accused were operating fake call centres in Mathura, Uttar Pradesh. They would contact individuals from the US, Canada, and the Philippines, offering them loans at discounted rates. Once the victims fell into their trap, the accused would fraudulently extract money from them using various pretexts.

The ED recently conducted raids at 14 locations in Jaipur, Nagpur, Mathura, Kanpur, Prayagraj and Lucknow.

During the raids, a total of Rs 90.37 lakh and incriminating documents were seized, as per sources.

The ED investigation revealed that the victims had sent money to India through more than 50 accounts controlled by the accused.

"These individuals were involved in a scam where they deceived foreign nationals through call centres by offering them cheap loans. They have already swindled an amount of Rs 54 crore so far," said the source.

Further investigation into the matter is ongoing.