ED Flags Fake Summons Racket: Conmen Misusing Legal Authority for Extortion

(By Syed Ali Taher Abedi)

Delhi,8, October,2025-During the course of investigation, summons is issued by the Directorate of Enforcement (ED) under the provisions of section 50(2) of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 (PMLA) and section 37 of Foreign Exchange Management Act, 1999 (FEMA).

The Directorate of Enforcement has observed several instances where certain unscrupulous individuals have impersonated officials and issued fraudulent summons to unsuspecting persons with the intent to cheat or extort. These counterfeit summonses closely resemble authentic notices issued by the ED, making it challenging for recipients to discern their legitimacy.

2. In order to allow the individuals to verify the authenticity of the summons received by them, the Directorate of Enforcement has implemented a mechanism of generating summons through the system which bears QR code and a unique Passcode at the bottom of the summons. Officials of ED have been instructed to issue summons only through the system except in certain exceptional circumstances. It may also be noted that the summons generated from the system shall be duly signed and stamped by the official issuing the summons and shall also contain his/her official email id and the phone number for correspondence purpose.

3. The receiver of the summons can verify the authenticity of the summons by following any of the two procedures mentioned below-

(i) Verification by scanning QR code: The following steps are required to be followed for verification of the authenticity of the system generated summons by scanning the QR codeStep-1 Scan the QR code printed on the summons which will redirect the user to the ED’s website page

Step-2 Enter the unique Passcode printed on the summons in the given field on the webpage opened after scanning the QR code

Step-3 If the details entered are correct, the contents of the summons (eg. Name of the party summoned, name and designation of the officer, date of summons) will be shown on the screen for verification of authenticity of the summons

(ii) Verification by entering details of summons: The following steps are required to be followed for verification of the authenticity of the system generated summons by entering the details of summons on the official website of ED

4. Verification of the authenticity of the system generated summons can be done after 24 hours of summons issuing date (excluding public holidays, Saturdays and Sundays).

5. The summons which could not be generated through system can be verified by contacting the designated point of contact over telephone or email as per details given below Description Details Name of contact person Sh. Rahul Verma Designation Assistant Director Address Directorate of Enforcement (ED), A – Block, Pravartan Bhawan, APJ Kalam Road, New Delhi – 110011 Email ID adinv2-ed[at]gov[dot]in Phone No. 011-23339172

6. Further, it is noticed that scammers are defrauding the common public in the name of Digital Arrest by showing fake arrest orders issued by Law Enforcement Agencies including ED and impersonating as ED officers.

It is reiterated that arrests made by ED are done after following due procedure and are done physically in person. There is no concept of Digital Arrest or Online Arrest under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002.

7. ED reaffirms its commitment to dismantle fraudulent practices and advises the public not to fall prey to fraudsters impersonating Enforcement Directorate officers.

 Step-1 Open the url https://enforcementdirectorate.gov.in/ and click on ‘Verify Your Summons’ menu

Step-2 Enter the summons no. mentioned on the top of the summons and the unique Passcode printed on the bottom of the summons in the respective fields

Step-3 If the details entered are correct, the contents of the summons (eg. Name of the party summoned, name and designation of the officer, date of summons) will be shown on the screen for verification of authenticity of the summons SUMMONS … प्रवर्त ED ED निदेशालय सत्यमेव जयते SUMMONS ISSUED BY ENFORCEMENT DIRECTORATE CAN BE VERIFIED THROUGH QR CODE PRINTED ON IT OR BY VISITING THE WEBSITE OF ED ENFORCEMENT DIRECTORATE DOES NOT MAKE DIGITAL ARREST OR ONLINE ARREST ARREST COMMON PUBLIC IS CAUTIONED NOT TO FALL PREY TO FRAUDSTERS IMPERSONATING ED OFFICERS