The Enforcement Directorate has filed a case of money laundering in IMA Jewels scam which left thousands of gullible investors in the lurch, officials said on Friday. The agency's zonal office in Bangalore has filed an Enforcement Case Information Report (ECIR), similar to an FIR, and has pressed criminal charges under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), the officials said.

The ED has taken cognisance of the complaint registered by the Karnataka police and the subsequent creation of a special investigation team (SIT) to probe the alleged fraud, the officials said. The agency is now gathering documents in the case and will soon summon few people.

As many as 26,000 complaints have been filed by the investors with the police against the 'I Monetary Advisory (IMA) jewels' store after an audio clip surfaced with a person named Mohammed Mansoor Khan, alleged to be its founder and managing director, heard saying he is going to commit suicide as he was fed up with corruption.