KOLKATA: A widening investigation by Bengal Police has traced the proceeds of hundreds of cyber fraud cases to a network of shell companies allegedly linked to industrialist Pawan Kumar Ruia and his family. The inquiry, which began with a single cybercrime complaint, has since uncovered what investigators describe as a complex web of fake firms, phantom offices, and recycled directors tied to scams spanning India.
An Inquiry That Began With a Single Transaction
What began as a routine cybercrime probe has spiraled into one of Bengal’s most intricate financial investigations. The state police’s cybercrime wing has filed a suo motu case against industrialist Pawan Kumar Ruia, along with several members of his family, for allegedly parking proceeds of online frauds worth more than ₹315 crore in a maze of company accounts.
Investigators say the trail emerged when proceeds from one cybercrime case were traced to an account linked to Hughli Machineries Pvt. Ltd. The money had been transferred multiple times between two accounts of the same company — a classic hallmark of fund layering. When officers scanned the company’s PAN details, they found something startling: at least 544 cyber fraud complaints had been registered against the same set of accounts, involving transactions totaling nearly ₹97 crore.
A Web of Companies With Shared Directors
As police delved deeper, the probe revealed a constellation of 16 beneficiary firms sharing 11 common directors, all of whom were connected through an intricate network of overlapping entities. Among the companies under scrutiny were Gain E Commerce, Melrose Creation Pvt. Ltd., Dahisar Traders Pvt. Ltd., and Xettle Technologies Pvt. Ltd.
According to investigators, these 11 individuals collectively held directorships in 186 companies spread across India. Of these, 147 firms were registered under the Registrar of Companies in Kolkata, and 73 shared the same registered address — 9, Ezra Street, Calcutta–700001. When officers conducted a physical verification of the site, they found that no offices existed there.
“This pattern of ghost firms with shared addresses and overlapping directors is consistent with what we see in large-scale financial diversion schemes,” said a senior officer familiar with the case. “These entities act as conduits for layering and moving illicit funds under the guise of legitimate business transactions.”
Family Under the Scanner
Police sources said the names of Pawan Kumar Ruia, Sarita Ruia, Raghav Ruia, Pallavi Ruia, and Sakshi Ruia have surfaced as beneficiaries of the proceeds of crime. Money from at least 23 reported cyber frauds has been traced directly into bank accounts held by members of the Ruia family, according to the investigation so far.
“The inquiry so far has revealed multiple accounts in their names where funds from cyber frauds have landed,” said one senior officer. Attempts to contact the Ruias for comment yielded no response.
In 2016, Pawan Ruia had been arrested in connection with alleged theft of railway equipment from the Jessop factory, one of the industrial units his group once controlled. His now-defunct Jessop and Dunlop companies had previously been subject to state efforts to take over their assets after years of inactivity and financial distress.
The Broader Picture: Cybercrime and Shell Firms
According to data from the National Crime Reporting Portal (NCRP), as of October 31, a total of 1,379 complaints had been lodged against accounts linked to these shell companies, over a hundred of them from Bengal alone. Many victims were allegedly lured by false promises of high investment returns or targeted through “digital arrest” scams, in which fraudsters pose as law enforcement officers to extort money.
“We have started investigating the case,” said a senior officer from the Bengal cybercrime unit. “The pattern suggests the existence of an organized syndicate that uses dormant or fake firms to launder money from multiple cybercrimes.”
A raid was conducted on Friday at the residence of Pawan Ruia, marking the latest phase of the probe. Officials say the focus now is on tracing the money trail beyond the domestic shell network — potentially into offshore accounts or layered digital wallets used to obscure origin and ownership.
