Mumbai, October 17, 2026: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has frozen assets worth more than Rs 15 crore and bank accounts across multiple locations following searches in an investigation into alleged online betting operations linked to All Panel Exchange (APX) and related cyber-fraud activities. The searches, conducted on October 13, covered Mumbai, Pune, Bengaluru, Surat and Unjha in Gujarat, targeting suspected mule accounts, fintech platforms, shell companies and cryptocurrency transactions allegedly used to route betting proceeds. The agency also seized one vehicle in Pune.
The ED froze 23 bank accounts in Mumbai, 17 in Pune, 16 in Surat and 19 in Unjha, Gujarat, taking the total to 75 accounts across the four locations. The money-laundering investigation has also brought Pune-based Edsom Fintech Pvt Ltd, Muslim Cooperative Bank (MCB) in Pune and Nagarbhavi Credit Cooperative Society (NCCS) in Bengaluru under the agency’s scanner over their alleged roles in routing funds linked to the APX betting operations.
According to the ED, Edsom Fintech allegedly established financial and technical arrangements with MCB and NCCS to facilitate the movement of funds linked to the betting operations through Pay-In and Pay-Out services, under the guise of merchant payments.
ED Traces Rs 150 Crore Through Pool Account
The ED traced approximately Rs 150 crore allegedly routed through a single pool account maintained with MCB using Pay-In and Pay-Out merchant services. The agency suspects that the arrangement was used to conceal the origin of betting proceeds.
Another transaction trail involved around Rs 37 crore linked to NCCS, which was allegedly routed through a suspected bogus account and converted into cryptocurrency, including USDT (Tether), before being transferred overseas.
A separate trail involved approximately Rs 6.5 crore routed through an individual account linked to the network and similarly converted into USDT before being remitted abroad, officials said.
Rs 182 Crore In APMC-Linked Withdrawals Identified
The financial trails uncovered during the searches reveal a multi-tier laundering infrastructure. The agency tracked Rs 182 crore in cash withdrawals executed through bogus accounts linked to the Agricultural Produce Market Committee (APMC) network, highlighting the exploitation of traditional agricultural banking channels to mask digital betting proceeds.
The agency alleges that Edsom Fintech routed betting funds directly through these APMC-linked accounts for cash withdrawals and further movement through the broader financial network. Several suspected bogus bank accounts utilised in this mechanism were identified and frozen during the multi-city search operations.
Investigation Into Rs 958 Crore In Financial Dealings
The transactions form part of a wider ED investigation into financial dealings worth Rs 958 crore involving Edsom Fintech, including Rs 341.66 crore allegedly received through payment gateways. The agency suspects that proceeds generated through online betting and related cyber-fraud activities were routed through multiple mule bank accounts before reaching the fintech firm and associated entities. Investigators are tracing the movement of the funds to establish the transaction trail and determine the roles of the entities involved.
The investigation had earlier led to the arrest of Edsom Fintech founder and CEO Ram U. Ramdhani on September 28 under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). A special court in Mumbai initially remanded him to seven days of ED custody before sending him to judicial custody.
Mumbai Searches Target S.B. Group Companies
In Mumbai, the searches focused on the S.B. Group of companies, where the ED found that several dummy firms were allegedly operating as shell entities under the group’s umbrella. The agency froze 23 bank accounts linked to the companies and found that the firms were allegedly used to open and operate mule accounts and route transactions through banking and payment networks linked to the APX betting operations under the guise of legitimate business transactions.
The searches also pointed to suspected layering of funds through these entities and their alleged conversion into cryptocurrency before being transferred overseas.
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Surat Diamond Firms Under Scanner
The ED also searched two Surat-based diamond import-export companies suspected of importing low-grade diamonds at inflated values as part of an alleged mechanism to transfer overseas proceeds generated through the APX betting operations. The ED froze 16 bank accounts in Surat during the searches, officials said.
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