ED freezes Rs 192 Cr linked to WinZO subsidiary in money laundering probe

The Directorate of Enforcement has frozen assets worth around Rs 192 crore classified as Proceeds of Crime (POC) belonging to Zo Games Pvt Ltd, a wholly owned Indian subsidiary of WinZO Pvt Ltd, after conducting a search operation under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act.

The assets were frozen in the form of bank balances, fixed deposits, and mutual funds, the ED said in a press release.

The agency stated that evidence pointed to deceptive gaming practices on the WinZO platform, where users were made to play real money games against bots and algorithm-driven personas without disclosure. The probe also found that withdrawals of user funds were restricted or prevented in certain cases. So far, the ED has identified total Proceeds of Crime of around Rs 802 crore in the case.

Earlier, in November 2025, the ED arrested WinZO co-founders Paavan Nanda and Saumya Singh Rathore after search and seizure operations at company premises and residences. These actions followed the freeze of assets worth over Rs 505 crore under the PMLA. The assets included bank balances, fixed deposits, mutual funds, and other financial instruments linked to the company and its related entities.

The investigation is based on multiple FIRs and hundreds of user complaints that allege manipulation of gameplay, misuse of customer data, non-refund of user funds, and continuation of real money gaming activities despite regulatory restrictions.

Investigators said user funds remained with the platform even after restrictions on real money gaming came into force.

The ED has also flagged overseas fund movements, with part of the alleged Proceeds of Crime routed to the US and Singapore as overseas investments. Funds worth $54 million were found parked in a US bank account held by WINZO US Inc.

The WinZO case forms part of a wider enforcement phase in 2025. During the year, the ED initiated action against startup-origin companies such as Dream11, Gameskraft, Probo, Paytm, Myntra, Simpl, and OctaFX under money laundering, FEMA, and foreign-exchange related probes.