Pak handlers used Dubai-Bangkok network to pay CRPF officer Moti Ram Jat for espionage: Report
New Delhi: A financial trail stretching from Delhi to Dubai and Bangkok has been unearthed by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) in connection with the arrest of CRPF Assistant Sub-Inspector Moti Ram Jat on charges of espionage. According to an exclusive investigation by The Indian Express, Pakistani Intelligence Operatives (PIOs) set up a multi-layered money pipeline disguised as legitimate trade, forex and remittance transactions to secretly fund Jat in exchange for classified information.
Jat, who was posted with a CRPF battalion in Pahalgam before being transferred to Delhi in April 2025, was arrested by the NIA on May 27 after agencies discovered his links to Pakistani handlers. He is alleged to have leaked sensitive details just days before the April 22 terror attack in which 26 civilians were killed.
An analysis of Jat’s and his wife’s bank accounts revealed that between October 2023 and April 2025, he received around ₹1.9 lakh from a PIO identified by the codename Salim Ahmed. The money was not transferred directly but routed through multiple channels designed to exploit loopholes in legitimate financial systems.
Investigators found that luxury Pakistani-made clothing and other goods were entering India through Dubai-based cargo operators after New Delhi imposed a 200% duty on direct imports from Pakistan post-Pulwama. Boutique owners in cities like Delhi and Patna were asked to make small UPI payments, ranging from ₹3,500 to ₹12,000, to certain numbers. Officials say these transactions, disguised as trade payments, were actually used to funnel espionage-linked funds into Jat’s accounts.
A second channel ran through Bangkok, where Indian-origin entities allied with PIOs lured Indian tourists with attractive rates for Thai Baht. After collecting cash in Bangkok, these operators used their Indian bank accounts, and those of relatives, to remit equivalent sums to India. This bypassed official forex systems and created cover for espionage payments.
A third route involved local mobile phone retailers in Delhi and Mumbai, who provided informal money transfer services alongside licensed platforms. Migrant and daily-wage workers often used these retailers to send money to their hometowns. However, investigators found that the same networks were exploited by PIOs to move espionage funds through personal accounts of retailers, with no proper verification of sender identities.
The NIA has conducted searches at 15 locations across eight states and recorded multiple statements linked to money deposited in Jat’s accounts. Officials believe the espionage network may have touched several other Army and government personnel, and a chargesheet is now being prepared to map out the entire mechanism.
According to the Indian Express report, the NIA considers this case to be a model example of how trade-based money laundering, parallel remittance systems, and foreign forex operators can be combined into a shadow economy to bankroll espionage inside India while avoiding detection through official channels.
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Putin meets Iran's FM Araghchi, says Russia ready to do its best to help bring peace to West Asia
Moscow (PTI): Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on Monday met Russian President Vladimir Putin, who hailed the Iranian people for fighting bravely and heroically for their sovereignty and said Moscow is ready to do its best to help bring peace to West Asia as soon as possible.
Araghchi, who held talks with Omani and Pakistani leadership before arriving in Russia, met Putin in St. Petersburg and thanked him for supporting Iran, state-owned TASS news agency reported.
"Russia is ready to do everything in its power to ensure that peace in the Middle East is achieved as soon as possible," Putin said during his meeting with Araghchi, which was also attended by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.
Revealing that he received a message from Iranian Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei last week, Putin asked Araghchi to convey his "gratitude for this message and best wishes for his health and well-being."
He praised the Iranian people for fighting "bravely and heroically" for their sovereignty, Iran's state-run PRESS TV reported.
"We really hope that, based on the courage and desire for independence, the Iranian people, under the guidance of the new leader, will weather this difficult period of trials and peace will come,” Putin said.
He also stressed that Russia “intends to maintain” its strategic relations with Iran.
Araghchi said that the world witnessed Iran’s strength in countering the US during the recent war, and that the Islamic Republic is a "stable and powerful establishment."
"With their courage, the Iranian people succeeded in resisting the US aggression and will be able to endure it,” he said.
He said that it became clear that Iran has “great friends and allies” like Russia, and conveyed “warmest greetings” from Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei and President Masoud Pezeshkian to the Russian leader.
Araghchi said relations between Moscow and Tehran represent a “strategic partnership at the highest level” and will continue to develop "regardless of circumstances."
"We are grateful to you for the solid and strong positions in support of the Islamic Republic of Iran," he said.
Foreign Minister Lavrov said that the talks between President Putin and the Iranian Foreign Minister were "useful and constructive."
Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov later said that Russia is "ready to provide any good offices, any mediation services that are acceptable to the parties."
"We will be ready to do everything so that ultimately peace ensues, guaranteed peace, and that there is no return to hostilities," Peskov was quoted as saying by TASS.
He was asked how Moscow can assist in future negotiations on the Iranian settlement.
Araghchi arrived in Russia after his whirlwind trip to Islamabad, which, according to him, was “very productive” and involved “good consultations" with Pakistan's Army Chief Field Marshal Asim Munir, amid uncertainty over the second round of peace talks to resolve the war in West Asia.
"We held good consultations with our friends in Pakistan. The trip was successful. We assessed the outcome of our recent (meetings) and discussed in what direction and under what conditions talks can move on,” Araghchi said in a video posted on his Telegram channel upon his arrival in St Petersburg.
Referring to the second round of talks between the US and Iran to resolve the conflict in West Asia, Araghchi said: "Developments have taken place in the negotiations."
"Despite some progress in earlier rounds, the talks failed to reach their objectives due to the Americans' approach, the excessive demands they made, and the wrong approaches they adopted. Therefore, it was necessary to consult with our friends in Pakistan to review the latest situation,” Iran's official news agency IRNA quoted him as saying.
He said that the trip to Pakistan was a good opportunity to review developments related to the US-Israeli war against Iran, expressing confidence that “these consultations and coordination between the two countries will be highly significant.”
Araghchi arrived at St. Petersburg's Pulkovo Airport early Monday, where he was welcomed by Russian officials and Iran’s ambassador to Russia, Kazem Jalali, the report said.
The first round of peace talks between Iran and the US, held on April 11 and 12, failed to bring the desired result for the parties to the conflict.
The Iranian minister arrived in Islamabad for the second time on Sunday after a short visit to Oman, where he held talks with Sultan Haitham bin Tariq al-Said on security in the Strait of Hormuz and diplomatic efforts to end the Iran-US conflict.
After Araghchi left Pakistan for Oman on Saturday, President Donald Trump announced that US negotiators Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner would no longer be going to Islamabad for talks with Iran, contending that Washington held all the cards on the matter.
Trump on Sunday reiterated that the US and Iranian officials can talk by phone for a peace solution to the conflict.
On Tuesday, Trump extended the two-week ceasefire with Iran indefinitely to give Tehran more time to prepare a unified proposal to end the war, just hours before the truce was set to expire.
The war began when the US and Israel jointly attacked Iran on February 28, killing Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and several top commanders. The retaliation by the Islamic Republic extended the war to the entire Gulf region.
