Enforcement Directorate Cautions Public Against Fake Summons, Impostors

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Monday cautioned the public about “impersonation” of its summons or letters by unscrupulous elements to extort money, even as it asked victims to contact the federal probe agency in case of trouble.

In a statement, the agency said at least nine such fake communications have been brought to its notice in the recent past and accordingly FIRs have been registered.

“The Directorate of Enforcement (ED) shall continue to take impacting action against unscrupulous imposters who attempt to impersonate ED officers and indulge in making fake correspondences with general public with ulterior motive to extract money,” the statement read.

The agency said it has come to notice that certain unscrupulous people have been sending fake communications on behalf of ED to private parties in the form of summons or letters with “synonymous or anonymous identity.”

“On receipt of complaints of such nature, the ED takes swift action by approaching local police authorities and file complaints and FIRs,” it said.

“Such FIRs have been made by ED at various police stations across India in recent past,” the statement added.

In one such case, the agency said, an accused was arrested in Kolkata for his involvement in sending an email from a fake ID that was similar to an ED officer’s e-mail.

In September, 2017, the agency similarly filed a criminal complaint with the Delhi Police after it came to light that a person being probed in a money laundering case had allegedly got calls from the official landline number of the ED director seeking his address for summons to be sent to him. In order to “overcome” such nuisance,  the agency has taken appropriate measures and started following certain practices so that unscrupulous elements are not able to harass private persons, the ED statement said.

The agency that enforces the stringent Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) and the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) in the country said victims of such frauds can contact the agency at Chandigarh regional office (0172-2540465), Delhi (011-23210692), Mumbai (022-22614091), Chennai (044-28255051) and Kolkata (033-23378343). People can also contact the ED head office in Delhi at 011- 24692055 or email at dir-enforcement@nic.in.