Bengaluru, Feb 19 (NationPress) The Enforcement Directorate (ED) in Bengaluru has confiscated assets valued at Rs 590 crore from Winzo Pvt. Ltd. and its subsidiary, Zo Pvt. Ltd., in accordance with Section 37A of the Foreign Exchange Management Act, 1999.

This operation was initiated due to alleged infractions of Section 4 of FEMA, as detailed in an official announcement released on Thursday.

The assets seized encompass bank accounts, fixed deposits, mutual funds, and bonds associated with the companies.

The ED remarked: "Winzo specializes in hosting Real Money Games (RMG) and online gambling platforms, featuring over 100 games and claiming a user base of approximately 25 crore users. The company reportedly made foreign direct investments in its foreign subsidiaries — M/s Winzo US Inc. in the United States and M/s Winzo SG PTE Ltd. in Singapore — by acquiring foreign exchange totaling USD 54,255,010 (about Rs 492 crore).

The ED has alleged that Winzo carried out real-money gaming operations, including Bingo 2P, Bingo Turbo, Ludo, Snakes and Ladders, Mines, Solitaire, Spades, and Blackjack, across Brazil, Germany, and the United States via its US-based subsidiary.

However, investigators assert that while funds were held overseas under the pretext of foreign direct investment, the complete gaming infrastructure and operational control remained in India.

The agency noted that the foreign subsidiaries lacked regular employees or independent establishments abroad, with daily operations allegedly overseen by directors and staff located in India.

The ED further revealed that accounting records, foreign bank account management, and related financial tasks for the US and Singapore entities were conducted from India. It also claimed that the Singapore entity received licensing fees from a Call-break game licensed to Winzo India.

The investigation uncovered that the company established wholly owned subsidiaries in the US and Singapore for gambling and real-money gaming activities, which contravene Rule 19(1)(b) of the Foreign Exchange Management (Overseas Investment) Rules, 2022.

The agency cited alleged breaches of Rule 9(1) of the same regulations, asserting that the subsidiaries were involved in non-genuine business activities not permitted under Indian law.

Moreover, the ED stated that online gaming activities have been prohibited in India under the Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming (PROG) Act, 2025, and alleged that the company could not have executed or sustained overseas investments post the imposition of the ban.

The agency claimed that Winzo is retaining foreign currency and income generated abroad in the bank accounts of its US and Singapore subsidiaries from illicit activities, amounting to Rs 590 crore, in violation of FEMA provisions.

Further investigations into the matter are ongoing.