Instagram influencer Sandeepa Virk Arrested in ₹40-crore fake beauty brand money laundering case
New Delhi: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has arrested popular Instagram influencer Sandeepa Virk, who has over 1.2 million followers, in connection with a ₹40-crore money laundering scam linked to a fraudulent beauty brand. The case also involves Angarai Natarajan Sethuraman, a former director of Reliance Capital.
According to the ED, Virk created a fake website and a non-existent beauty brand, claiming to sell FDA-approved beauty products. She allegedly used her online popularity to attract customers and investors, diverting the collected funds abroad through multiple shell companies.
Searches conducted at Sethuraman’s residence reportedly uncovered illegal communications with Virk and evidence of fund diversion. Authorities also revealed that Reliance Capital had sanctioned Sethuraman a ₹22-crore home loan in violation of prudential norms, a significant portion of which remains unpaid and is suspected to have been siphoned off.
Investigators are probing whether Virk’s lavish lifestyle, prominently displayed on social media, was funded through diverted Reliance-linked funds and other fraudulent gains.
Under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002, the ED took Virk into custody in Delhi. She was produced before a special PMLA court, which approved her custody. The ED has stated that strict action will be taken against all those involved in the scam.
The investigation is ongoing.
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Rickelton's ton in vain as SRH beat MI by 6 wickets
Mumbai (PTI): Ryan Rickelton's whirlwind unbeaten ton was overshadowed by Heinrich Klaasen's unbeaten 65 as Sunrisers Hyderabad defeated Mumbai Indians by six wickets in an IPL match here on Wednesday.
Chasing an imposing 244-run target, Travis Head (76 off 30) and Abhishek Sharma (45 off 24) shared 129 runs for the opening wicket to set the platform for SRH.
Klaasen (65 not out off 30 balls) then displayed his all-round hitting abilities to guide SRH home with the help of Nitish Kumar Reddy (21) and Salil Arora (30 not out off 10) in 18.4 overs.
Earlier, Rickelton's knock powered MI to 243 for five.
MI rode on a 93-run stand between Rickelton (123 not out off 55 balls) and Will Jacks (46 off 22) in 7.1 overs for the opening stand to power the side.
MI skipper Hardik Pandya scored a valuable 31 off 15 balls before being dismissed.
Praful Hinge (2/54), Eshan Malinga (1/29), Sakib Hasan (1/39) and Nitish Kumar Reddy (1/31) were the wicket-takers for SRH.
Brief Scores:
Mumbai Indian: 243 for 5 in 20 overs (Ryan Rickelton 123 not out; Praful Hinge 2/54).
Sunrisers Hyderabad: 249 for 4 in 18.4 overs (Travis Head 76, Heinrich Klaasen 65 not out; AM Ghazanfar 2/51).
