Directorate of Enforcement attaches ₹1,906-crore assets in Gameskraft money-laundering probe
The Directorate of Enforcement (ED) on Friday announced that it has provisionally attached movable and immovable assets worth approximately ₹1,906 crore belonging to Gameskraft Technologies
The Directorate of Enforcement (ED) on Friday announced that it has provisionally attached movable and immovable assets worth approximately ₹1,906 crore belonging to Gameskraft Technologies Pvt. Ltd., its shareholders, and associated entities in connection with a money-laundering case. The agency said that the action was taken in connection with its probe into the generation and laundering of proceeds of crime. The ED initiated its investigation based on multiple FIRs registered in Telangana for offences of cheating under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), which are scheduled offences under the PMLA.
Earlier this year, the agency conducted searches on the company’s office premises and the residences of its directors and some employees between May 7 and May 13 and again on June 20 and 21. According to the agency, Gameskraft Technologies Pvt. Ltd. and RummyTime Technologies Pvt. Ltd. operated online real-money gaming platforms and they had an estimated three crore users across the country. The ED alleged that many users were from Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, and Tamil Nadu. The companies allegedly earned platform commissions ranging from 10% to 15% on the amount staked by users.
The ED further alleged that despite promising users that gameplay was fair and free of automated players, the platforms deployed bots, resulting in financial losses for players while generating unlawful proceeds for the companies. The ED also alleged that the companies spent around ₹1,035 crore on marketing and promotional campaigns to attract users. The proceeds of crime were subsequently layered through dividend payments and other methods before being invested in financial instruments and high-value assets to project them as legitimate, said the ED. Earlier in the investigation, the agency had frozen movable assets worth around ₹495 crore and seized ₹11 lakh in cash along with gold and diamond jewellery.
With the latest attachment, the total value of assets attached, frozen, and seized has reached approximately ₹2,401 crore. The attached assets include bank balances, fixed deposits, mutual funds, equity shares, a farmhouse, and several residential and commercial properties. The attachment was carried out by the ED’s Bengaluru Zonal Office under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002.
The BriefWire