Enforcement Directorate Raids Multiple Firms Running Chinese Online Betting Apps; Freezes Four HSBC Bank Accounts With Rs 46.96 Crore

Following raids on the 15 locations belonging to companies involved in the operation of online Chinese betting applications, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) has frozen four HSBC Bank accounts containing a total of Rs 46.96 crore, reports Economic Times.

The ED had carried out raids at the multiple locations spread across Delhi, Gurugram, Mumbai and Pune on Friday (28 August) under the various sections of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).

Searches were conducted on the registered offices of the companies, their directors and their chartered accountants. During the searches, ED had seized 17 hard disks, five laptops, phones and crucial incriminating documents.

The statement issued by the ED also shared that initially, these companies had been incorporated by dummy Indian directors, following which Chinese nationals travelled to India and took up the directorship of these companies.

ED also shared that these companies then hired some locals and used them to open bank accounts with the HSBC Bank, and trade accounts with online wallets, namely, PayTM, Cashfree, Razorpay, et cetera.