Indian Enforcement Directorate Seizes $10.5M From Online Scam App E-Nuggets
Summary:
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) of India, in conjunction with crypto exchanges Binance, ZebPay, and WazirX, seized approximately $10.5 million from E-Nuggets, an online scam gaming app. The app amassed cryptocurrencies worth $10 million across 70 crypto wallets and lured its users with high returns, which were not delivered. The ED investigation led to the seizure of assets worth ₹163 crore ($19.5 million) and the arrest of the alleged scam masterminds. Despite critics claiming the potential for money laundering in cryptocurrencies, the blockchain's transparency makes it challenging to hide illicit funds.
India's Enforcement Directorate (ED) has apprehended around $10.5 million (approximately 90 crores INR) from a fraudulent online application called E-Nuggets, in conjunction with crypto exchanges including Binance, ZebPay, and WazirX. A Hindu report revealed that the scam gaming app E-Nugget had deposits of cryptocurrencies valued at $10 million, scattered across 70 varied crypto wallets on the three mentioned crypto exchanges. Financial assets were seized by these exchanges countering the wallets and transferring the amounts to the wallet owned by the ED agency.
The ED, in its report, accused E-Nugget of luring customers with promises of high investment returns on their gaming platform. The app listed enticing hard-cash games that boasted high commissions, and it invited users to place bets. However, the app disappeared with the invested money, leaving investors in a lurch without a way to reclaim their investments.
According to the agency, it has confiscated properties and assets worth more than ₹163 crore ($19.5 million), including liquid cash, cryptocurrencies, account balances, and workspace. The fraudulent app first garnered attention in 2022 when some funds from the company found their way into digital assets.
ED investigations unearthed 2500 bogus bank accounts, and ₹19 crore ($2.2 million) in cash. The alleged orchestrator behind the scam, Aamir Khan, and his associate Romen Agarwal, have been taken into custody.
As the money was transferred through digital assets, law enforcement authorities were able to trace and subsequently freeze and seize the funds. Though critics frequently highlight cryptocurrencies' potential for money laundering, the blockchain's nature makes it challenging to hide ill-gotten gains once discovered. In several cases, crypto exchanges have identified and frozen funds connected to criminal activity. A pertinent example of such transparency was the 2016 Bitfinex hack, in which hackers stole 119,756 Bitcoin (BTC) from the crypto exchange. The culprits were eventually apprehended and held in 2022 as they tried to cleanse these funds.
As of the publication time, responses from Binance and Zebpay were pending, despite reaching out from Cointelegraph for comments.
Published At
5/2/2024 11:44:03 AM
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