Seraj Ahmed Mohammad Harun Memon (Left), Nagani Akram Mohammad Shafi (Center) and Vasim Vali Momad Bhesaniya @ Sanju (Right) | File photo
Mumbai: In the ongoing Malegaon money laundering investigation, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) has uncovered a WhatsApp group called “AMD Group (Axis),” allegedly serving as the central hub for coordinating large-scale illicit financial activities. According to the ED’s prosecution complaint (PC) filed in the PMLA Court, Mumbai, the WhatsApp group functioned as a command center for hawala operations and the laundering of unaccounted money.
Mahmood Abdul Samad Bhagad (30), also known as “Challenger King,” who is allegedly the mastermind behind this operation and remains absconding, was identified as the orchestrator of this network and the group’s administrator along with his accomplice, known only as Jimmy. According to his last travel history, he had travelled from Ahmedabad to Dubai. They managed financial transactions by issuing instructions to two other group members for execution. Arrested members Nagani Akram Mohammad Shafi (33) and Vasim Bhesaniya (42) were part of this group, and played key roles in managing financial transactions across multiple accounts, withdrawing cash from designated accounts, and delivering money to specific individuals to further the laundering process, following Bhagad’s instructions shared in the group.
This four-member core group is linked to the Rs 1,000 crore Malegaon money laundering operation executed through exploitation of Agricultural Produce Market Committee (APMC) accounts, demonstrating the sophistication of their network. The group used encrypted communication to facilitate fund transfers while maintaining secrecy, an ED official stated.
The ED’s investigation led to raids on the premises of Bhagad, Shafi, and Bhesaniya in early December last year, resulting in the seizure of six mobile phones, two memory cards, and records of 53 accounts with a total balance of Rs 49.29 lakhs. From these digital devices, the ED retrieved detailed WhatsApp group records, including account information for shell companies, transaction logs, and receipts from six APMC shell firms in Ahmedabad.
According to the ED’s complaint, over four months from August 2024 to November 2024, Shafi and Bhesaniya withdrew Rs 198.41 crore from these accounts under Bhagad’s instructions. The WhatsApp group records contained details of daily withdrawals and fund transfers, which are now being cross-referenced with banking records and statements from the accused. Withdrawn funds were subsequently funneled through various hawala operators in Ahmedabad. The ED has recovered a list of these recipients, uniquely identified through tokens in the form of Rs 5 currency notes. Investigators are actively tracing these cash recipients to further unravel the laundering network.
The investigation also revealed that Shafi had visited Malegaon in October 2024 and stayed there for several weeks to assist Seraj Ahmed (43) in carrying out large financial transactions. This included the withdrawal of approximately Rs 14.84 crore and which was then laundered to Mumbai via hawala networks under Bhagad’s instructions.
In December, ED conducted a search operation on angadiya and hawala operators to trace the real beneficiaries of the laundered money. During the operation, ED recorded the statements of several angadiyas and hawala operators linked to said money laundering case. Chintan Atulbhai Patel, alias Pintoo, who operates under the name KP Angadiya in Mumbai, revealed that Seraj Ahmed had handed over approximately Rs 13.26 crore in cash to Milan Patel for transfer from Malegaon in October 2024. Patel submitted copies of deposit slips for twelve transactions, through which the said amount was deposited by Seraj Ahmed.
The ED also recorded the statements of Ahmedabad-based angadiya operators, who reportedly confirmed that Shafi and Bhesaniya had visited their offices multiple times to deposit huge sums of cash for further transfers as per instructions.
The ED discovered that the illegally generated funds originated from various types of online frauds such as investment fraud, digital arrest, online gaming, online betting, illegal forex trading and different other types of cybercrimes. The accused had collectively obtained over Rs 317.49 crore across 23 bank accounts through these illegal activities, of which Rs 316.70 crore was withdrawn and laundered through angadiya and hawala operators.
According to senior ED officials, the agency is set to file a supplementary chargesheet against Bhagad and the recipients of these accounts soon. Several of these individuals are suspected to have political connections and potential ties to activities that pose a threat to national security, which are currently under investigation.
