Delhi High Court granted bail to influencer Sandeepa Virk, observing that continuing to detain her would be unfair given the delay in initiating proceedings. The court noted that prolonged incarceration without timely action cannot be justified in a money laundering case.
New Delhi: The Delhi High Court granted regular bail to social media influencer Sandeepa Virk, who is facing allegations of money laundering linked to the sale of counterfeit beauty products.
She is accused of defrauding a woman of nearly Rs.6 crore under the guise of promising her a film role.
Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma issued the order, highlighting that the case was initiated nearly ten years after the transactions in question.
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The court asserted that continuing to detain Virk would be unfair, especially considering the significant delay in initiating proceedings under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
The Court stated,
“In view of the foregoing discussion, this Court is inclined to grant regular bail to the applicant on her furnishing a personal bond in the sum of Rs.2,00,000/- with two sureties of the like amount,”
The case originated from a first information report (FIR) filed in 2016 at a Punjab police station under Sections 406 and 420 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
Section 406 IPC: Criminal Breach of Trust
Section 406 deals with criminal breach of trust, which means:
- Someone was entrusted with property or had control over it,
- But they dishonestly misused, converted, or disposed of that property,
- Violating the trust placed in them.
Section 420 IPC: Cheating and Dishonestly Inducing Delivery of Property
Section 420 deals with cheating, which means:
- A person deceives someone,
- With the intention from the very beginning to cheat,
- And makes the victim give property, money, or something valuable because of that deception.
The complainant claimed that Amit Gupta and others, including Virk, persuaded her family to invest approximately Rs.6 crore with the promise of casting her as the lead in a film. Gupta has since been declared a proclaimed offender in the initial offence.
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) accused Virk of misrepresenting herself, deceiving individuals into making payments, and laundering the proceeds via a fraudulent e-commerce website, hyboocare.com, which falsely claimed to sell FDA-approved beauty products.
Virk was arrested in August 2025. After reviewing the case, the Court noted that she had not been charge-sheeted by the police regarding the initial offence nor summoned by a magistrate following a private complaint filed by the complainant.
The Court also acknowledged that the main accused had already returned approximately Rs.2.7 crore to the complainant.
Senior Advocate Anurag Ahluwalia, along with Advocate Ashish Upadhyay, represented Sandeepa Virk, while the ED represented by Panel Counsel Samrat Goswami, along with Advocates Shrinivas Sinha and Vivek.
Sandeepa Virk, a well-known Instagram influencer who identifies as both an actor and a cosmetologist.
According to her Instagram profile, she identifies as an actor and entrepreneur, and is the founder of a skincare product website called hyboocare.com, which the ED claims served as a front for money laundering.
Case Title: Sandeepa Virk v Directorate of Enforcement
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