Influencer with 1.2 Million Followers Arrested in ₹40-Crore Money Laundering Case
Sandeepa Virk, a social media influencer with over 1.2 million Instagram followers and a self-described entrepreneur and actor, has been arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in a high-profile ₹40-crore money laundering case.
The investigation began after an FIR was registered in Mohali under Sections 406 (criminal breach of trust) and 420 (cheating) of the IPC. Virk was accused of deceiving people by soliciting money through false promises and misrepresentation.
According to the ED, she portrayed herself as the owner of hyboocare.com, a website claiming to sell FDA-approved beauty products. However, officials say the site was essentially a sham — it had no functioning user registration, recurring payment failures, negligible online presence, and no active customer service. Investigators believe it was simply a front to launder illicit funds.
Raids conducted in Delhi and Mumbai revealed more troubling links. The ED alleges Virk had ties to Angarai Natarajan Sethuraman, a former director at the now-defunct Reliance Capital Limited. He is accused of irregular fund disbursement — including ₹18 crore from Reliance Commercial Finance Ltd in 2018 without proper due diligence — and a ₹22-crore home loan sanctioned in violation of lending norms. Officials claim a significant portion of these funds was siphoned off and remains unpaid.
Sethuraman has denied all allegations, calling them “baseless” and denying any association with Virk.
During search operations, the ED seized documents and recorded statements from multiple individuals, including one Farrukh Ali. Virk was arrested on August 12 under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) and remanded to ED custody until Friday.
Officials say the investigation is still ongoing, with the possibility that more people could be implicated.
News Source : Information for this article was gathered from a variety of reliable news outlets.
