ED Freezes ₹192 Crore in Money Laundering Case Against Online Gaming Platform WinZO
Bengaluru, January 1: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has frozen assets worth ₹192 crore belonging to online real-money gaming platform WinZO Pvt. Ltd. in connection with an alleged money laundering and gaming fraud case, officials said on Wednesday.
According to an official press release, the ED conducted a search operation on December 30, 2025, at the Bengaluru Zonal Office premises of WinZO’s accounting firm, Winzo Pvt. Ltd., under Section 17 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002.
The frozen assets include bank balances, fixed deposits (FDRs), and mutual fund investments, which the agency identified as proceeds of crime (POC) generated through alleged illegal activities. WinZO is reportedly fully owned by its Indian subsidiary.
BOT-Driven Gaming Allegations
Earlier, the ED had conducted search and seizure operations on November 18, 2025, at the company’s office premises and residences of its directors. The investigation revealed that WinZO allegedly used BOT-driven algorithms (PPE/Persona) to play real-money games against unsuspecting customers.
Investigators claim that users were made to believe they were competing with real players, while in reality they were playing against automated BOTs, resulting in unfair losses.
The company is also accused of blocking withdrawals of customer funds from wallets maintained on the WinZO platform.
₹802 Crore Proceeds of Crime Identified
The ED stated that WinZO generated approximately ₹177 crore by deploying BOTs between May 2024 and August 2025, and an additional ₹557 crore from April 2022 to December 2023.
Even after the Government of India imposed a ban on real-money gaming, investigators found that WinZO continued to hold ₹43 crore of users’ money, taking the total proceeds of crime to ₹802 crore.
Funds Moved Abroad
A portion of the alleged proceeds was reportedly transferred overseas to the United States and Singapore under the guise of foreign investments. The ED found that funds were parked in a US bank account under the name “WinZO US Inc.”, identified as a shell company with no real operations.
The account, officials said, was operated from India, raising further suspicion of cross-border financial violations.
Investigation Ongoing
The Enforcement Directorate has confirmed that further investigation is in progress, and additional action may follow based on findings related to overseas fund transfers and digital gaming fraud.
ಇದನ್ನೂ ಓದಿ: WinZO ಗೇಮಿಂಗ್ ಆಪ್ನಲ್ಲಿ BOT ಆಟ: ₹192 ಕೋಟಿ ಜಪ್ತಿ, ತನಿಖೆ ಮುಂದುವರಿಕೆ
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