Saumya Singh Rathore and Paavan Nanda - founders of online money gaming platform WinZO - were arrested in Karnataka's Bengaluru by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Wednesday on charges of money laundering.
The were arrested after being quizzed in connection with the case at the zonal office of the federal probe agency in Bengaluru, PTI news agency reported, quoting officials.
The ED had raided the premises of WinZO and Gamezkraft, another company offering online gaming, and their promoters last week under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
Saumya and her colleague were produced before a local court in Bengaluru the on Wednesday night after being questioned, and were sent to one-day custody by the court.
On Monday, the ED said in a statement that funds to the tune of ₹43 crore of gamers were allegedly "held" by WinZO, money that the agency said should ideally have been refunded to players after government of India banned real-money gaming.
Who is Saumya Singh Rathore?
Saumya Singh Rathore co-founded with WinZO Paavan Nanda in 2017. Paavan had also founded ZO Rooms, where Saumya was part of the core team from 2015 and worked as the chief of staff, as per her LinkedIn bio.
{{/usCountry}}Saumya Singh Rathore co-founded with WinZO Paavan Nanda in 2017. Paavan had also founded ZO Rooms, where Saumya was part of the core team from 2015 and worked as the chief of staff, as per her LinkedIn bio.
{{/usCountry}}Now permanently closed, ZO Rooms was an Indian hotel brand that aimed to provide affordable, tech-enabled hospitality.
Saumya's LinkedIn bio states she has worked closely with some of the best leaders of M&E on strategic matters in roles that were meant for driving growth and overseeing execution. She worked in roles that covered budgeting and planning, post merger integration, strategic business development, organization structuring and strategic hiring and compensation.
According to her bio, she studied in Applied Clinical Psychology in Bangalore University and pursued Masters in Organization & Consumer Psychology, Industrial and Consumer Psychology, from University of Manchester between 2008 and 2009.
Paavan Nanda, has a Bachelor of Engineering degree from Netaji Subhas Institute of Technology and did Masters of Business Administration from Indian Institute of Management, Calcutta (IIM Calcutta) with specialisation in Finance and Strategy, according to his LinkedIn.
Before founding WinZO in 2017 and now-shut Zo Rooms in 2013, Paavan Nanda's professional journey spanned consulting, investing, and global markets roles across organisations like Bain & Company, where he worked as an Associate (2009-2011); Abbott, where he served as Chief of Staff; and Merrill Lynch, where he worked as FICC Global Markets in 2013, as per his LinkedIn.
What ED said about WinZO
The ED had accused WinZO of "engaging in criminal activities and unscrupulous practices as customers were made to play with algorithms without being made aware of the fact that they are playing with the software and not with humans in real-money games."
ED said WinZO was operating real-money games (RMGs) in countries such as Brazil, the US, and Germany, from India (on the same platform used by the Indian entity).
"Even after the ban of RMGs by the Union government (w.e.f. 22/08/2025), an amount of ₹43 crore is still held by the company without refunding to the gamers/customers," PTI quoted the ED.
It said bonds, fixed deposits, and mutual funds worth ₹505 crore "possessed" by WinZO Games, were frozen under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
Reacting to these charges, a spokesperson for WinZO, said in a statement that "fairness and transparency are core to how WinZO designs and operates its platform."
"Our focus remains on protecting our users and ensuring a secure, trustworthy experience," the news agency quoted WinZO statement which added that it remains fully compliant with all applicable laws.