The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has carried out searches at a Ahmedabad-based fintech company that was allegedly using 150 banks accounts to layer funds generated from illegal betting. The accused Rakesh R Rajdev and others transacted ₹170.70 crore using a bank account opened in the name of one Akash Ojha, without taking his consent. The money is suspected to have been generated through the online betting website www.wolf777.com, the ED said in an official statement.

After searches carried out on Monday, the ED said an amount of ₹3.05 crore lying in these bank accounts were freezed under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002. ED stated it initiated the investigation after recording ECIR based on an FIR registered by DCB police station of Ahmedabad. The local police charged that he had fraudulently used Akash Ojha’s Pan and Aadhar cards to open an account and transferred ₹170.70 crores of betting money.

“During PMLA investigations, it has been found that the accused are operating through a private communication platform and providing the login Id and password to the persons who want to place bets online. This website is providing a platform for placing bets on various types of speculation games such as ‘Teen Patti’, ‘Rummy’, ‘Andar Bahar’,’Poker’ and also on various live games including cricket matches,” the agency charged.

Customers are asked to deposit money in their accounts for buying credits/coins through online mode and once money is deposited, the person can place bets in the website using the login id and password, pointed out ED.

The ED is trying to the money generated through these betting apps. It has been found that bank accounts in the name of various fictitious entities have been opened for routing and layering of money and after routing through multiple layers, the money is being sent abroad through bogus entities in guise of import, revealed ED.

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