The Enforcement Directorate searched 29 locations across six cities and froze trading accounts as part of an alleged scheme involving two listed companies and online investment groups.
The Enforcement Directorate has frozen about Rs 200 crore in trading accounts after carrying out raids across six cities in an alleged share manipulation scheme centred on a classic “pump and dump” operation, according to a note from the agency reported by The Indian Express and other Indian outlets.
The action came after searches on October 16 at 29 locations in Ahmedabad, Gandhinagar, Surat, Bhavnagar, Mumbai and Nashik under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act. According to the ED, the investigation is linked to suspected market abuse involving Nashik-based R M Drip and Sprinklers Systems Ltd. and Surat-based R&B Denims Ltd., both of which are listed companies.
The agency said the probe also covered offices of the companies, the homes of promoters, premises linked to people who were allegedly allotted shares at low prices, stock broking and finance firms, and locations connected to people suspected of running promotional WhatsApp groups. The ED said communities with names such as “Multibagger Stocks” were used to circulate daily “buy tips” to retail investors.
LiveMint reported that investigators seized documents, digital devices, share transaction records and property papers during the searches, while other outlets said the freeze covered trading accounts worth roughly Rs 200 crore. The case adds to a broader regulatory crackdown on suspected stock manipulation, where online groups and coordinated buying prompts are alleged to have been used to inflate share prices before insiders cashed out.
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