ED raids Kolkata businessman's home over e-nugget gaming scam, confiscates Rs 1.5 cr in cash

Earlier this month Indian developers again hit out at Google Play over the presence of fake apps on the platform and the delay by the company in removing such platforms. Some of these apps were even found to have as many as 50,000 downloads, making users vulnerable to fraudulent schemes online. A month after the concerns were raised, the Enforcement Directorate busted a gaming app scam in Kolkata, and have now conducted another raid on a businessman’s house in connection to it.

Tracking individuals linked to the scam

The house of a businessman Umesh Agarwal was raided in connection the game called e-nuggets created by Amir Khan who had been arrested earlier. Agarwal’s son Rumen was detained for questioning after the raid and Rs 1.5 crore in cash was confiscated by the ED. He was close to Amir Khan who was nabbed by UP police after he was absconding in the e-nugget scam.

Khan the original mastermind in the case, told the police that after cheating people in India, Bangladesh and the Middle East, he and his partners had bought Bitcoin worth Rs 100 crore to stash the money online. ED had found Rs 18 crore in cash when it raided six locations across Kolkata, connected to the gaming app back in September.

Capitalising on greed among gamers

E-nugget lured people by offering them a commission for keeping their money in the app’s e-wallet, along with the promise of winning money in an online lottery. At first people were paid for downloading the app and commissions were regularly deposited in their bank accounts. This allowed Amir Khan and his associates to gain their details including account information, before disabling the feature to withdraw funds.

Khan, the son of a businessman from Kolkata is alleged to have siphoned off Rs 65 to Rs 70 crore from unsuspecting users, hoping to make easy monet via e-nugget.