New Delhi, Jan 6 (PTI) The Enforcement Directorate has registered a money laundering case against a "conman" who allegedly tried to extort money from people, facing action by the federal probe agency, by claiming his links with officers.

The Hyderabad zonal office of the ED searched the premises of the alleged fraudster -- Sandeep Desai-- on January 3 and seized multiple SIM cards and mobile phones, the agency said on Monday.

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The agency said in a statement that these phone devices were "used by the conman to entice and extort money from persons facing ED investigation."

The agency said it got to know about the alleged illegal extortion activities of Desai after a man named Suresh Kumar Agarwal, the managing director (MD) of a company named CSK Realtors Ltd., gave a written complaint to the ED office in Hyderabad claiming that Desai had approached him offering "help" in an ongoing investigation being conducted by the ED against his company.

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CSK Realtors Ltd and Singh Mansions Pvt Ltd were raided by the ED officials on December 19 last year as part of a case filed against them under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).

Desai, according to the ED, contacted Agarwal "based on the press release" issued by the agency.

"He (Desai) tried to extort money from him (Agarwal) in the name of ED officers. The conman Sandeep Desai used three different mobile numbers to contact Suresh Kumar Agarwal through WhatsApp and falsely projected himself as senior ED officer," the statement said.

"He convinced Suresh Kumar Agarwal to meet him at a 5-star hotel in Hyderabad and during the meeting introduced himself as Rakesh and a cousin/friend of an ED officer," the agency claimed.

Desai demanded a "hefty" sum from Agarwal and "offered to help" him in the ongoing PMLA investigation against CSK Realtors Ltd. through his "contact" with ED officers, it said.

The ED said the "conman" was identified through CCTV footage and surveillance and as soon as his whereabouts were ascertained, his premise was raided.

"In his statement recorded during the course of the investigation, Desai admitted that he tried to extort money from Agarwal in the name of ED officers by falsely projecting his association with them," the agency claimed.

The agency reiterated that people should always cross-check if they receive any communication or get contacted by a person claiming to be from the ED by visiting the 'note on conman' link on its official website which includes the landline number of some nodal officers who will help them verify summons and calls.

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)