ED seizes ₹1,906 crore assets in Gameskraft online gaming money laundering case
The Directorate of Enforcement (ED) announced on Friday that it has provisionally attached movable and immovable assets worth approximately ₹1,906 crore belonging to Gameskraft Technologies Pvt. Ltd., its shareholders, and associated entities. The action is part of a money-laundering investigation against the online gaming company.
The ED stated that the attachment was made under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002, based on proceeds of crime generated through alleged illegal activities. The investigation was initiated after multiple First Information Reports (FIRs) were registered in Telangana for offences of cheating under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), which are scheduled offences under the PMLA.
Earlier this year, the ED conducted searches on the company's office premises and the residences of its directors and employees between May 7–13 and again on June 20–21. According to the agency, Gameskraft Technologies and RummyTime Technologies Pvt. Ltd. operated online real-money gaming platforms with an estimated three crore users across the country.
The ED alleged that many users were from Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, and Tamil Nadu. The companies allegedly earned platform commissions ranging from 10% to 15% on the amount staked by users. Furthermore, the ED claimed that despite promising users fair gameplay free of automated players, the platforms deployed bots, causing financial losses to users while generating unlawful proceeds for the companies.
The ED also alleged that the companies spent around ₹1,035 crore on marketing and promotional campaigns to attract users. The proceeds of crime were subsequently layered through dividend payments and other methods before being invested in financial instruments and high-value assets to project them as legitimate.
Earlier in the investigation, the agency had frozen movable assets worth around ₹495 crore and seized ₹11 lakh in cash along with gold and diamond jewellery. With the latest attachment, the total value of assets attached, frozen, and seized has reached approximately ₹2,401 crore.
The attached assets include bank balances, fixed deposits, mutual funds, equity shares, a farmhouse, and several residential and commercial properties. The attachment was carried out by the ED's Bengaluru Zonal Office.
