ED Raids 12 Premises in Online Gaming Fraud Case, Seizes ₹30.30 Lakh Cash
The Enforcement Directorate (ED), Nagpur Sub-Zonal Office, conducted searches at 12 premises across Nagpur, Gondia and Ahmedabad on August 18, 2026, as part of a money-laundering investigation into an alleged online gaming and betting fraud.
The searches were carried out under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002, at locations linked to accused Anant Navratran Jain, also known as Sontu Jain, and his associates.
The ED initiated its investigation based on an FIR registered by the Cyber Crime Police Station, Nagpur City, against Jain and others under various provisions of the Indian Penal Code and the Information Technology Act, 2000.
According to the ED, Jain allegedly lured the complainant into investing substantial amounts in online gaming by promising high returns within a short period. The complainant was allegedly provided links to gaming platforms including Diamondexch, Indianexch, Lotusbook and World777 and was repeatedly encouraged to make additional deposits despite suffering losses.
The agency alleged that the gaming platforms were manipulated to prevent users from actually receiving winnings. According to the ED, whenever the complainant appeared to be approaching a winning position, technical errors or glitches allegedly occurred, resulting in the winnings being blocked.
Through these alleged fraudulent activities, the complainant was defrauded of approximately ₹58.42 crore, the ED said.
The investigation further revealed, according to the agency, that the alleged proceeds from the illegal gaming operations were collected through multiple channels. The complainant was allegedly instructed to make payments either in cash through designated couriers, using hawala-style “token” currency notes for identification and reconciliation, or through bank transfers to designated agent accounts linked to Sontu Jain.
The ED said several mule bank accounts held in the names of different individuals and entities were allegedly used to receive, layer and launder the proceeds of crime. Analysis of these accounts reportedly showed transactions involving several crores of rupees, with funds either withdrawn in cash or allegedly sent outside India under the guise of bogus import payments.
During the August 18 searches, the ED seized ₹30.30 lakh in cash and froze more than 100 bank accounts, mutual funds and shares with a combined value or balance of approximately ₹5 crore.
The agency also froze two bank lockers and seized three luxury vehicles valued at around ₹1.70 crore. In addition, 11 mobile phones and a laptop containing potential digital evidence related to the alleged gaming operations and financial transactions were seized.
Investigators also recovered documents relating to immovable properties valued at approximately ₹16.50 crore.
The ED said the searches yielded substantial financial and digital evidence and are expected to assist its ongoing investigation into the alleged generation, concealment, possession, layering and use of proceeds of crime linked to the online gaming operation.
News Source : Information for this article was gathered from a variety of reliable news outlets.
