Online part-time job scam: ED freezes 80 bank accounts in Karnataka
Bengaluru, Nov 17: Eighty bank accounts having a balance of Rs 1 crore have been frozen by the Directorate of Enforcement (ED) here as part of its ongoing investigation in a case related to 'Super Like Earning Application', a scam promising part-tie online jobs, an official said on Thursday.
The bank accounts of the accused people were frozen during the two-day-long search proceedings on Monday and Tuesday at 16 locations in Bengaluru, an ED spokesperson said.
The official said the searches were conducted under the provisions of Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) at the residential premises of the accused and also on the offices of payment gateways, including PhonePe, Paytm, Google Pay and Amazon Pay, and banks like HDFC, ICICI and Dhanalakshmi.
The ED initiated the money laundering investigation on the basis of an FIR registered on March 3 last year by South Cyber Economics and Narcotic Crimes Police Station against 'Messrs Super Like Online Earning Application' and other accused.
On January 13, police filed a chargesheet before the court of Principal City Civil and Sessions Judge, Bengaluru, against 50 accused people, including two Chinese nationals - Shen Long and Himani - in the case.
Giving details of the case, the spokesperson said customers of the application had to invest some money and share photos and videos of celebrities. They would then get money back as profits.
"By getting attracted towards this lucrative scheme, the common public invested funds in the app. After sharing videos of celebrities, they got some money as profits for some time," the ED said.
However, later on, the customers did not get any returns even after sharing videos and photos. When they tried to witdraw their invested money, the app had blocked their amount, the spokesperson said.
"Thus, by cheating the common public, the accused people collected huge amounts of funds from the common public and did not return their money. Criminal activities related to scheduled offences were committed," the spokesperson said.
The ED said further investigation in the case is under progress.
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Air India resorts to cost-cutting ways amid 'tough times'; layoffs not anticipated
New Delhi/Mumbai (PTI): Hit hard by Pakistan airspace closure and Iran war, Air India has resorted to cost-cutting measures, including holding back annual increments for staff and asking them to cut discretionary spending as well as non-critical expenditures, warning of "tough times".
On Friday, Air India Chief Executive Officer & Managing Director (CEO & MD) Campbell Wilson told the staff it is going to be a "very, very difficult year" if things don't improve on the Middle East front.
A day after the loss-making airline's board discussed various cost-saving steps, Wilson, along with Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Sanjay Sharma and Chief Human Resources Officer (CHRO) Ravindra Kumar GP, addressed the employees during a townhall on Friday where the emphasis on the need to keep a close watch on costs.
With higher jet fuel prices due to the West Asia conflict and airspace curbs, the loss-making airline's expenses have spiralled in recent times and against this backdrop, Sharma also told staffers that FY26 has seen a softening in revenue amid heightened external uncertainties.
Calling for a relentless focus on costs in these tough times, Wilson urged employees to suspend discretionary spending, renegotiate rates where feasible, and defer non-critical expenditures.
"There must be a laser-sharp focus on eliminating wastage and leakages," he said.
Stressing the need to tighten the belt for a while, Wilson sounded optimistic that travel demand would rebound and the industry would continue on its upward path.
CHRO Ravindra Kumar told staff that the airline will proceed with variable pay for the last financial year and continue with planned promotions while noting that annual increments will be deferred by at least one quarter.
"We don't anticipate layoffs," he said.
At the airline's board meeting on Thursday, various cost-saving steps, including likely furloughs, were discussed. The Tata Group-owned airline has around 24,000 employees.
Generally, furlough refers to sending staff on unpaid leaves by companies during a tough financial situation.
During the townhall, CFO Sanjay Sharma said while strong revenue growth and fleet expansion drove financial momentum through FY25, FY26 has seen a softening in revenue amid heightened external uncertainties.
Air India has seen around 40 per cent CAGR (Compounded Annual Growth Rate) in revenue between 2022 and 2025, he added.
The airline was acquired by the Tata Group from the government in January 2022.
The Air India CEO mentioned the external challenges being facing the aviation industry as a whole, including the continued closure of Pakistan airspace that is expected to persist for the foreseeable future and geopolitical conflicts leading to disruptions and airspace closures across West Asia.
Wilson, who is set to step down later this year, also flagged a sharp depreciation of the rupee and a 2.5-3 times increase in jet fuel prices, and added that these factors have adversely affected travel sentiment and consumer confidence, as per the sources.
If the Strait of Hormuz opens, oil prices fall and consumer as well as business confidence come back, there is a decent chance of a solid recovery, Wilson said, adding that unless those circumstances happen, it was going to be "a very, very difficult year".
"I feel somewhat responsible that we ended up with probably the biggest surprise of the year in the external environment which was a full-scale war in our neighbouring region in the Gulf. That has had a huge impact on airspace," he said.
For Air India, Wilson said the situation is compounded by the fact that the airline cannot fly over the neighbouring country and has to take a much longer routing for any west-bound destination.
"Every airline is reporting that they are under some sort of financial pressure as a result of higher fuel prices and economic uncertainty. So, it is unfortunately not a great environment to be running an airline," the Air India CEO said.
The Air India Group -- Air India and Air India Express -- is projected to have incurred more than Rs 22,000 crore loss in the financial year ended March 2026.
At the townhall, Wilson also highlighted various initiatives, including completion of the retrofit of its legacy narrow-body aircraft and rapid network optimisation to redeploy capacity more efficiently.
