Money laundering through crypto by gaming firms' promoters: Enforcement Directorate probe

Bengaluru: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Tuesday alleged that its probe indicated promoters of two gaming companies laundering money through cryptocurrency.

The Central agency during the day held simultaneous raids in 11 premises belonging to the operators of WinZO app and Gameskraft (pocket52.com) under provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).

"Of the 11, five premises are in Bengaluru, four in Delhi and two in Gurugram. Search is being carried out at the corporate office premises of these gaming operators along with residence of respective CEO/COO/CFO," the ED sources said.

During the search, ED officials unearthed that promoters "are owning crypto wallets indicating laundering through cryptocurrencies".

According to the ED, the raids stemmed from the FIRs filed by victims that these gaming companies manipulated the algorithm of the app, putting the gamers at a disadvantage.

"The ED is also trying to establish what were these exact manipulations alleged in the FIRs," sources said.

Further probe is underway and the agency was yet to reveal the full extent of the recoveries from the searches.