The Tis Hazari court has issued a notice to beauty influencer Sandeepa Virk and an associate on an ED chargesheet for money laundering. The ED alleges Virk used a fraudulent beauty website to launder funds. The court has reserved its order on her bail plea.
The Tis Hazari court on Monday issued notice to beauty influencer Sandeepa Virk and other accused Amit Gupta on a charge sheet filed by the Enforcement Directorate (ED). They have been charged with money laundering. Additional Sessions Judge (ASJ) Vijay Shankar issued notice to Virk and Amit Gupta under section 223 of BNSS to lead pre-summoning evidence. The matter was listed on November 17.
The court has also reserved the order on the bail plea of Sandeepa Virk after hearing arguements. The court is likely to pronounce an order tomorrow. She was arrested on August 12.
ED Files Chargesheet Under PMLA
The Special Public Prosecutor (SPP) for the ED filed a reply and opposed the bail plea. The ED has already filed a Prosecution Complaint (Charge sheet) against Sandeepa Virk and Amit Gupta for the alleged offence under section 3 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), punishable under section 4 of PMLA.
It is the case of the ED that a case was registered at Police Station Phase-8, SAS Nagar, Mohali, under sections 406 and 420 of the IPC in 2016. After the completion of the investigation, a charge sheet was filed against the accused, Amit Gupta. ED stated that the Offence under Section 420 (Cheating) of the IPC is covered under Schedule offences under the PMLA.
On November 8, 2025, a case was registered under Sections 3 and 4 of the PMLA, and the ED investigated the matter. After the completion of ofthe investigation, the present prosecution complaint was filed. It is the case of the Directorate of Enforcement that both proposed accused have committed the offence of money laundering under PMLA.
Details of the Alleged Fraud
According to the ED, the investigation revealed that Sandeepa Virk allegedly acquired immovable property in her name by making false promises and cheating. She claims to be the owner of hyboocare.com, a website purportedly selling FDA-approved beauty products. However, the products listed on the site are non-existent, according to the ED.
Directorate of Enforcement (ED), had conducted search operations on 12 and 13 August 2025 at multiple locations in Delhi and Mumbai under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002. These operations were part of an ongoing investigation into Sandeepa Virk and her associates, who are alleged to have exerted undue influence through misrepresentation and defrauded individuals by soliciting money under false pretences.
Website Served as a Front for Laundering
The ED had earlier stated that the website lacks a user registration option and is plagued by persistent payment gateway issues. Scrutiny of the website revealed minimal social media engagement, an inactive WhatsApp contact number, and a lack of transparent organisational details, all of which support the finding of non-genuine commercial activity.
These factors include a limited product range. Inflated pricing, false claims of FDA approval, and technical inconsistencies indicate that the website serves as a front for laundering funds, ED claims. (ANI)
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