He ferries passengers on a bike but barely earns enough to sustain himself. On an average a Rapido driver in Ahmedabad makes less than Rs 25,000 a month. But one Gujarati driver has been arrested following his involvement in a 550 crore scam.
This 28-year-old Rapido driver has ended up at the centre of one of Gujarat’s most complex money laundering cases. It’s one involving Rs 550 crore, illegal online betting, and suspected stock price manipulation.
The Enforcement Directorate alleges that his bank accounts were used to route the proceeds.
The ED reportedly filed a criminal complaint with the Detection of Crime Branch, seeking registration of an FIR in connection with the alleged laundering network.
The complaint was reportedly filed by Hridesh Kumar, assistant director, ED Ahmedabad, and details findings recorded under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act during searches linked to the 1xBet illegal betting racket.
In a communication dated November 27, 2025, the ED informed the Ahmedabad city police commissioner about its findings and sought a criminal case under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, the IT Act and other relevant laws.
The rider at the heart of the probe is Pradip Od. The ED alleges that his bank accounts and a proprietorship firm, M/s Pradip Enterprises, were opened and operated by others using his PAN and Aadhaar details without his control.
In his statement recorded under Section 17 of the PMLA, it emerged that he was paid Rs 25,000 per account and Rs 400 for signing cheque leaves. He maintained he had no role in the transactions.
Two other firms were also part of the alleged network, Kamlesh Trading, in the name of Kamlesh Kumar Kalal, and Ronak Traders, in the name of Ronak Ramesh Od.
All three were floated in 2024 using forged KYC documents, dubious addresses and manipulated Udyam registrations. Combined credit and debit entries across these accounts added up to roughly Rs 550 crore within a year.
The ED alleges the accounts were used to layer and launder proceeds from illegal betting operations and circular trading to artificially inflate penny stocks. The money was also allegedly used to meet personal expenses, including marriage-related payments for Gandhidham-based businessman Aditya Zula. Donations routed through crowdfunding platform Impact Guru also came under scrutiny.
The alleged kingpin is Kiran Parmar, also known as Lala, who is accused of controlling the entire operation. Others named in the complaint — Mahadev, Jugal, Ravi and Jeevraj — allegedly handled tasks ranging from arranging SIM cards and managing chequebooks to supervising bank account activity.
Acting on the ED’s complaint, the DCB police registered an FIR for forgery and use of forged documents, cheating, criminal conspiracy, impersonation and identity theft under relevant provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.
