Chandigarh, September 4 (Daily Kiran) : The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has taken significant action in Chandigarh, freezing assets worth approximately ₹1.5 crore linked to a money laundering case involving former BSNL SDE Swarnjeet Singh and other suspects. This operation falls under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002.
The investigation was initiated based on an FIR filed by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the ACB Chandigarh against Singh, Doorsteps Solutions, and others. Evidence suggests that Singh, along with accomplices Saurabh Tyagi, Marconi James McEwan, and Preeti Gohel, allegedly conspired to provide unauthorized access to BSNL’s Short Message Service Center (SMSC) infrastructure. This manipulation allowed a substantial volume of SMS traffic to bypass the designated DLT/Tanla platform and the official billing system.
According to the ED, approximately 63.37 crore bulk push SMS messages were illegally routed through this scheme, resulting in an estimated revenue loss of around ₹5.42 crore for BSNL, which includes a loss of about ₹4.05 crore in interconnection usage charges (IUC).
The investigation also revealed that Smart Technology and Doorsteps Solutions, along with their partners, exploited these unauthorized bulk SMS services at rates below market value, gaining significant financial benefits.
The assets frozen by the ED include agricultural land in SAS Nagar (Mohali), Punjab, and residential and commercial properties in Vadodara, Gujarat. Following this latest action, the total value of assets frozen in this case has now risen to approximately ₹2.30 crore. Earlier, on March 27, 2025, the agency had frozen assets worth ₹80 lakh related to this investigation.
The estimated proceeds of crime in this case are currently assessed at around ₹6.47 crore. The ED has stated that the investigation is ongoing, and further legal actions will be taken based on the facts that emerge during the inquiry.
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