The Gujarat High Court has refused bail to an accused in a cyber fraud and money laundering racket involving mule accounts and conversion of illicit funds into USDT, emphasizing the economic nature of the offence.
Gujarat HC Denies Bail in Cyber Fraud and Money Laundering Case
The Gujarat High Court has declined to grant bail to an accused involved in a cyber fraud and money laundering network that utilized mule accounts and converted proceeds into cryptocurrency (USDT). The Court stressed that the economic nature of the offence and its impact on financial systems outweigh the fact that the offence is triable by a JMFC court.
Rejecting the argument that bail should be granted due to less stringent trial jurisdiction, the Court held that
"merely because an offence is triable by a JMFC does not dilute the seriousness of economic crimes under PMLA and IT Act provisions". The bench highlighted the organized scale of the fraud, use of anonymous digital channels, and flight risk as key considerations.
This ruling underscores the judiciary's tightening stance on digital financial crimes. Practitioners must anticipate heightened scrutiny in bail applications involving technology-enabled economic offences, especially where cryptocurrency and layered transactions are involved.
Citations
- Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002
- Information Technology Act, 2000
