Kolkata game app fraud: ED seizes cryptocurrency worth Rs 12.83 crore

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Wednesday seized cryptocurrencies worth approximately Rs 12.83 crore under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002, in respect to an investigation being conducted against one Aamir Khan and others relating to the Mobile Gaming Application, namely E-nuggets.

According to the press statement issued by ED, the central agency’s investigation revealed that the accused was transferring part of the amount illegally earned through the gaming app (E-Nuggets) overseas by using Crypto Currency Exchange. It was found that one such dummy account in the name of Sima Naskar [Proprietor of M/s Pixal Design] was opened in the WazirX (crypto exchange), which was used to purchase the cryptocurrencies/crypto assets. Thereafter, the said cryptocurrencies were further transferred to another account in another Crypto Exchange namely "Binance." The balance of said transferred cryptocurrencies i.e. 77.62710139 Bitcoins [equivalent to USD 1573466 (Rs 12.83 Crore approximately)] at the Binance crypto exchange has been frozen.

It may be noted that on September 24 Amir Khan was arrested by the Kolkata Police from Ghaziabad in Uttar Pradesh, is currently in the custody of the city police and his next date of appearance at a lower court in Kolkata is October 8.

On September 10, the ED conducted raids under the provisions of PMLA on six premises in Kolkata. During a search operation conducted at the premises of Aamir Khan, an amount of Rs 17.32 crore was found and seized by the central agency.