The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has arrested four individuals, including two from Odisha, in connection with a massive Rs400 crore online betting and gaming app fraud. The scam was carried out through the “Fiewin” app, allegedly operated by Chinese nationals in collaboration with their Indian counterparts.
The accused are identified as Arun Sahu and Alok Sahu from Rourkela, Odisha, Chetan Prakash, an engineer from Patna, Bihar, and Joseph Stalin, a software engineer based in Chennai. They were arrested under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), following an investigation triggered by a case filed by the Cossipore police in Kolkata.
According to the ED, these four individuals played an active role in facilitating the fraudulent activities through the Fiewin app. They are accused of being involved in money laundering, and a 14-day remand has been granted for further questioning.
The scam operated through the Fiewin online gaming application, which allegedly mobilized funds from unsuspecting online gamers. These funds were then deposited into the bank accounts of individuals, known as “recharge persons,” who allowed the app’s operators to use their accounts in exchange for commissions. According to the ED’s investigation, the funds, amounting to Rs400 crore, were subsequently transferred into Binance wallets controlled by Chinese nationals.
The Chinese nationals running the app communicated with the accused using encrypted platforms, such as Telegram, and coordinated the transfer of funds. Arun and Alok Sahu acted as the primary “recharge persons,” receiving money from Fiewin users, which was then converted into cryptocurrency. This cryptocurrency was transferred to foreign wallets controlled by the Chinese handlers, primarily via the Binance global crypto exchange.
