ED arrests Delhi man for 'cheating' US woman of Rs 3.3 crore

New Delhi: The Enforcement Directorate has arrested a Delhi-based man under the anti-money laundering law in connection with a cyber fraud with a US citizen, who was allegedly duped of more than Rs 3.3 crore, official sources said on Tuesday.

Lakshay Vij, 33, a resident of the Dilshad Garden area, was taken into custody by the federal probe agency on Monday night under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), they said.

Vij was produced before a local court which sent him to ED custody till July 28.

The sources said the accused is being investigated in a cyber fraud case linked to the alleged duping of the US woman, Lisa Roth.

The money laundering case stems from a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) FIR registered in July 2023.

According to the CBI FIR, Roth's laptop was allegedly hacked and a number flashed on her screen. When she called the number, a person pretending to be an agent from Microsoft responded and asked her to transfer her investment of $4,00,000 (more than Rs 3.3 crore as per the current exchange rate) from her bank account to a cryptocurrency wallet.

When Roth logged into her crypto account after a few days, she found it empty, according to the ED. She then filed a complaint with the local authorities who sent the case details to India and the CBI filed a case.

The ED filed the money laundering case in December last year and said Vij and another person were the "masterminds" of the alleged fraud perpetrated against the US citizen.