New Delhi, Nov 27 : The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Wednesday night arrested Soumya Singh Rathore and Pawan Nanda, directors of WinZO Games Private Ltd, in connection with a multi crore money laundering case. The directors were produced before a Bengaluru court, which remanded them to ED custody and scheduled the next hearing on Thursday at 11:30 AM to consider arguments on the remand application.
The action follows ED raids conducted at four locations across Delhi and Gurugram between November 18 and 22, 2025, under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002. During the investigation, the agency froze assets worth approximately ₹505 crore, including bank balances, bonds, fixed deposits, and mutual funds linked to WinZO Games.
The probe was initiated after multiple FIRs alleged serious offences by the company, including cheating, misuse of KYC documents, creation of fake identities, and blocking user accounts. Complainants reported that their PAN and KYC details were exploited to conduct financial transactions, resulting in significant losses.
Investigators found that WinZO continued operating its real-money gaming (RMG) app in countries like Brazil, the USA, and Germany from India, despite the central government banning RMGs on August 22, 2025. The company allegedly withheld around ₹43 crore owed to users.
A key revelation from the ED’s investigation was that users were forced to play against software algorithms disguised as real players, preventing withdrawals and causing financial losses. WinZO allegedly profited illegally from the deposited funds.
The probe further revealed that WinZO ran its global operations from India, transferring large sums abroad. Approximately ₹489.90 crore (USD 55 million) was transferred to a shell company, WinZO US Inc., in the USA, while operations were conducted entirely from India.
The ED continues to investigate the company’s operations and is examining further evidence of offshore fund transfers, illegal RMG activities, and misuse of customer deposits.