Bengaluru, Feb 18 (NationPress) In a significant move, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) from the Bengaluru Zonal Office has provisionally seized movable assets, including balances in foreign bank accounts located in the USA and Singapore, totaling USD 55.69 Million (Rs 505 crore). These funds are linked to overseas shell companies operated by Paavan Nanda and Saumya Singh Rathore under the Public Money Laundering Act (PMLA), as stated in an official announcement on Wednesday.

The allegations against the company involve deploying artificial intelligence and automated gaming profiles in real-money games, which may have caused unfair disadvantages to players and resulted in financial losses. The overall amount of proceeds of crime attached or frozen in this case stands at approximately Rs 1,194 crore.

This action pertains to Winzo Pvt Ltd, which allegedly incurred losses for users by using BOTs, AI, and algorithms in online real-money games, generating illicit proceeds amounting to Rs 3,522.05 crore, as reported by the ED.

The frozen assets include both movable and immovable properties linked to M/s Winzo Pvt Ltd, specifically M/s Winzo US Inc in the USA and M/s Winzo SG Pvt Ltd in Singapore.

Previously, the ED executed search operations at the office of Winzo Pvt Ltd and the home of its director on Nov 18, 2025, with further investigations conducted on Dec 30, 2025. The findings from these searches suggested the company engaged in criminal activities, misleading customers into believing they were competing against real players rather than BOTs.

Moreover, Winzo allegedly obstructed and capped withdrawals from customer accounts, generating proceeds from a 'Rake Commission' for matches involving BOTs competing against real players on their platform. This mechanism resulted in the systematic appropriation of users' deposits as revenue through rake commissions.

The cumulative effect of this operation allowed the company to amass proceeds of crime totaling Rs 3,522.05 crore from the financial years 2021-22 to 2025-26, up until Aug 22, 2025.

Thus far, the ED has frozen assets amounting to Rs 689 crore in this case. Additionally, some of the illicit funds were transferred out of India to the USA and Singapore disguised as overseas investments.

While all operational activities, including bank account management, are conducted from India, approximately USD 55 million is held in bank accounts in the USA and Singapore.

A prosecution complaint has also been submitted to the Special Court of PMLA in Bengaluru on Jan 23. As of now, the total proceeds of crime attached and frozen in this case are estimated at around Rs 1,194 crore.

Investigations are ongoing.