Indian authorities seize $15 million after crackdown on Chinese-controlled betting, loan apps

In an effort to combat Chinese-controlled betting and loan apps, Indian officials have seized INR 123 crore ($15 million) and searched ten websites.

The information was verified on Wednesday by the Directorate of Enforcement, a domestic law enforcement and economic intelligence agency. The Prevention of Money Laundering Act searches conducted in Kochi, Chennai, and Mumbai led to the stopped bank deposits.

The investigation went after Chinese-controlled lending and betting programs that were allegedly defrauding a lot of individuals.

The agency said that as a consequence of the search operations, digital devices, incriminating documents, several bank accounts used for money laundering, and details regarding the assets of the accused individuals and companies were found and taken into custody.

First Information Reports from authorities in Kerala and Haryana, which claimed that Chinese-controlled online gaming, lending, and betting apps were being used for exploitation and fraud, sparked the investigation. The first phase of the investigation and prosecution process in the Indian legal system is First Information Reports.

The Directorate of Enforcement focused on the ways in which payment aggregators are utilized to mule accounts in various banks in Kerala State, where illicit proceeds from the aforementioned apps and platforms are combined and laundered. Additionally, money was collected via shell companies in many Indian states and sent to other shell companies abroad using ruses including FX currency trades and bitcoin transfers.

Most of these foreign companies are allegedly domiciled in Singapore and are accused of submitting fake invoices that were processed by one of the group companies, which is an FX settlement platform based in Singapore with an affiliate in India. Even though the Indian companies involved in the scam only submitted fraudulent invoices, the monies were processed, allegedly in contravention of regional anti-money laundering laws.

Original story by: Asia Gaming Brief