The Directorate of Enforcement (ED), Bengaluru Zonal Office, has arrested Paavan Nanda and Saumya Singh Rathore, both Directors of New Delhi–based WinZO Games Pvt. Ltd., for their alleged involvement in money-laundering activities linked to the company’s online real-money gaming operations.
The arrests were made on November 26 under provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002. The accused were produced before the Principal City Civil & Sessions Judge (CCH-1) in Bengaluru on Thursday.
According to officials, search operations were conducted last week at the WinZO’s corporate office and at the residence of Saumya Singh Rathore. The searches were based on FIRs alleging cheating, account-blocking, impersonation, and misuse of PAN details by the company and others.
Preliminary findings by the ED suggest that the WinZO engaged in fraudulent practices by allegedly making customers play real-money games against algorithms or software instead of human opponents, without disclosing this to users. The agency claims the company restricted or prevented withdrawals from customer wallets and generated large ‘proceeds of crime’ through the manipulation of such game mechanisms.
So far, assets worth ₹505 crore, held in the form of bank balances, bonds, fixed-deposit receipts and mutual funds, have been frozen under Section 17(1A) of the PMLA.
The ED has also alleged that the WinZO continued to operate real-money games in foreign jurisdictions, including Brazil, the United States, and Germany, using the same platform run from India, despite the Union government’s ban on such activities. Investigators said the company hosted all categories of games, including real-money formats, through a single India-based application for global users.
The probe further revealed suspected diversion of funds to overseas entities. About USD 55 million (₹489.9 crore) was allegedly transferred to bank accounts in the U.S. held in the name of ‘WINZO US Inc.’, which the ED has termed a shell company.
The agency claims that all operational decisions and account handling for the U.S. entity were conducted from India.
Published – November 28, 2025 10:01 pm IST
