BENGALURU: India’s financial crime agency on Monday said it has frozen more than Rs 524 crore across two online gaming companies in parallel money-laundering investigations tied to allegations of cheating, manipulated game outcomes, diversion of funds and continued operations after the nationwide ban on real-money gaming. The Enforcement Directorate carried out search operations in Delhi, Gurugram and Bengaluru between November 18 and 22 in two separate cases involving WinZO Games and Pocket52 operator Nirdesa Networks, the agency said in statements issued on November 24. Searches on WinZO led to the freezing of about Rs 505 crore in bank balances, fixed deposits, bonds and mutual funds. The probe began after FIRs alleging cheating, impersonation, blocking of user accounts, misuse of PAN details and fraudulent loss of customer funds.
Complainants also alleged their KYC information had been misused. According to the ED, WinZO continued to offer real-money games in Brazil, the US and Germany from India even after the Union government banned such games from August 22, 2025. The agency said the company still holds Rs 43 crore belonging to customers without refunding it. Investigators also alleged that users were matched against undisclosed algorithms instead of human players, withdrawals were restricted and proceeds of crime were generated from user losses.
The ED further claimed that funds were diverted under the guise of overseas investments, incl
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