The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has arrested WinZO Games Pvt. Ltd. founders Saumya Singh Rathore and Paavan Nanda on charges of money laundering, days after conducting searches in Bengaluru, Gurgaon, and Delhi and freezing assets worth over Rs 523 crore.
A source confirmed, “Saumya and Paavan were produced before the court yesterday. The court granted ED custody and directed the agency to produce them today at 11:30 am for detailed arguments on the remand application.”
Earlier, the ED stated that WinZO Games Pvt. Ltd., which operates real money gaming (RMG) services through its app, had Rs 505 crore worth of assets frozen in bank balances, bonds, FDRs, and mutual funds under Section 17(1A) of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002.
The investigation was initiated following FIRs against WinZO and others for cheating, account blocking, impersonation, and misuse of PAN. According to the ED, complainants’ KYC details were misused, resulting in significant financial losses due to fraudulent activities.
The probe revealed that WinZO operated real money games in foreign countries such as Brazil, the USA, and Germany from India, despite a ban on RMGs in India. Approximately Rs 43 crore remained with the company without being refunded to players.
The ED also stated that WinZO engaged in unscrupulous practices, including using algorithms/software in games without informing players that they were not competing against humans.
In response to the searches, WinZO issued a statement claiming compliance with “all applicable laws” and said it had been cooperating with the investigation.
