ED freezes ₹47 crore, including 3 Bengaluru cos, in Chinese loan app case

The Enforcement Directorate, in its probe against app-based token, HPZ, raided several locations across the country, landing ₹46.67 crores of cheat money.

Published on: Sep 16, 2022, 16:55:36 IST

By Yamini C S | Edited by Chandrashekar Srinivasan

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The Enforcement Directorate on Friday froze nearly ₹47 crore belonging to four firms - including Paytm Services Pvt Ltd and two other Bengaluru-based companies - after raids this week over alleged irregularities regarding a 'China-controlled' investment token - HPZ.

The ED conducted raids across multiple locations in the country, uncovering incriminating evidence from Bengaluru while finding ₹9.5 crores of cash in virtual accounts. ((Facebook) )

₹1.11 crore was seized from Paytm Services Pvt Ltd, ₹1.28 crore from Cashfree Payments India Pvt Ltd, and ₹8.21 crore from Razorpay Software Pvt Ltd, as well as ₹33.36 crore from Pune-based Easebuzz Pvt Ltd. The funds were frozen under the anti-money laundering law.

"... various incriminating documents (were also) recovered and seized," the agency said, noting that entities involved in money-laundering had maintained huge balances in virtual accounts with payment aggregators and detected ₹46.67 crores across scanned accounts.

Also read: In Delhi excise policy probe, ED raids at over 3 dozen places in multiple states

Cashfree Payments said it would 'continue to extend diligent co-operation to ED operations'.

Paytm said the frozen funds 'with regards to the loan app case, do not belong to the company'. "These entities are independent merchants, who are being investigated," it said.

The other firms have yet to respond at the time of publishing this report.

The Enforcement Directorate had said HPZ 'promised users large gains against investment by investing in mining machines for Bitcoin and other crypto currencies'. The MO was to first lure victims to invest on pretext of doubling investments through HPZ, the agency said.

Also read: ED seizes 91.5 kg gold, 340 kg silver from Mumbai firm

HPZ was operated by Lillion Technocab Private Ltd and Shigoo Technology Private Limited, and the latter was also found to be 'linked to various Chinese-controlled companies'.

All of these searches were carried out on Wednesday, and included action at multiple premises in Delhi, Mumbai, Ghaziabad and Lucknow, and even Gaya in Bihar.

Premises of banks and payment gateways in Delhi, Gurgaon, Mumbai, Pune, Chennai, Hyderabad, Jaipur, Jodhpur and Bengaluru were also searched.

The case - under criminal sections of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act - stems from an October FIR against accused and linked persons by Nagaland Police's cyber crime unit.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Yamini C S
Yamini CS is a Senior Content Producer at Hindustan Times with nearly six years of experience in digital journalism. She is part of the India News desk, where she works on a wide range of stories cutting across civic issues, city-based developments, politics, governance, public policy, breaking news, trending topics, and international affairs that have an impact on India. Her role involves tracking fast-moving developments, verifying information from official and on-ground sources, and presenting news in a clear, accessible format for a digital-first audience. A significant part of her work includes handling live blogs during major news events, such as elections, court verdicts, political developments, civic disruptions, protests, weather-related alerts, and unfolding national or international incidents. Through live coverage, she focuses on timely updates to help readers follow complex stories as they evolve. Before moving to the broader India News desk, Yamini was associated with the Bengaluru desk at Hindustan Times, where she extensively covered urban governance, infrastructure, traffic and transport issues, weather events, public grievances, and civic administration in the city. This experience strengthened her grounding in city reporting and sharpened her focus on citizen-centric journalism. She began her career as a correspondent with Reuters after completing a postgraduate diploma in journalism from the Indian Institute of Journalism and New Media. Her early training instilled a strong emphasis on accuracy, sourcing, and news ethics, which continue to shape her reporting style. Outside of work, Yamini enjoys reading across genres, listening to music, and spending time with her family, which help her maintain balance in a fast-paced newsroom environment.Read More

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