Mumbai: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) conducted search operations at various premises in Mumbai, Pune and Bengaluru in a case involving online gaming and betting platform, “All Panel Exchange” and seized incriminating documents and digital devices, an official said on Saturday.
The ED’s Mumbai Zonal Office conducted the search operations under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002, and froze various bank accounts related to multiple such entities/persons, an official statement said.
The investigation stems from a case involving an online gaming and betting platform, “All Panel Exchange” (https://allpanelexch.com/), through which a complainant was lured via a WhatsApp message into gaming/betting platform and an FIR was registered by the Jalgaon Police, the ED said.
“After being provided login credentials, the complainant was permitted to make initial withdrawals to build trust and was thereafter induced to invest larger sums. Subsequent withdrawal requests were denied and the operators became unresponsive,” the ED added.
“Investigation under PMLA revealed that funds collected from victims of the gaming/betting platforms were routed into bank accounts maintained by Edsom Fintech Private Limited, a Pune-based entity, which received hundreds of crores, through various mule accounts and layering entities,” the central probe agency said.
The accounts of Edson Finetch Private Limited and its related entities were found to be linked to numerous cybercrime complaints filed by victims across the country involving online gaming fraud, investment fraud, share trading fraud, crypto fraud, and online task-based frauds, it added.
During the investigation, it was found that one FIR was also registered against Edsom Fintech Private Limited and others by Bengaluru Police, for online gaming fraud wherein the complainant was cheated of Rs 5.3 crore.
Investigation revealed that part of the proceeds of crime were systematically layered through a web of shell/associate entities, converted into virtual digital assets through crypto platforms and ultimately moved to offshore entities/persons, the ED said.
“It was found that various entities used for layering of proceeds of crime were dummy entities with no actual business and were established with dummy Directors, ultimately managed and controlled by other persons. Some of them were not even existing at the registered places of business,” the ED added.
“The investigation revealed that a Credit Cooperative Society’s KYC and fabricated documents were used to open an account/wallet on the crypto exchange platform by an individual who routed an amount of Rs 800 crore through the said cooperative society’s bank account and substantial amount of it was found to be directly linked to the proceeds of crime generated out of illegal gaming/betting platforms through scams by luring innocent victims,” the central probe agency said.
(IANS)
