The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Tuesday said that it has recently carried out searches at a Fintech company involving 150 bank accounts during investigations being conducted related to an illegal betting case against Rakesh R Rajdev and others.
These accounts were involved in the layering of funds received from individual persons who are placing bets through a website www.wolf777.com. "Subsequent to searches, an amount of Rs 3.05 crore lying in these bank accounts has been frozen under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA)," the official said.
The ED initiated the investigation after recording the ECIR based on the FIR registered by the DCB police station, Ahmedabad, where it was alleged that the accused Rakesh Rajdev and others have opened one bank account in the name of Akash Ojha, using his PAN and Aadhar card, without his knowledge.
They used that account for transacting Rs 170.70 crore of betting money generated through the betting website www.wolf777.com. "During PMLA investigations, it has been found that the accused are operating through a private communication platform and providing the login ID and password to the persons who want to place bets online.
This website is providing a platform for placing bets on various types of speculation games such as Teen Patti', Rummy', Andar Bahar', 'Poker' and also on various live games including cricket matches.
They were asked to deposit money in their accounts for buying credits/coins through online mode and once money is deposited the person can place bets in the website using the login ID and password," the official said.
The proceeds of crime generated through these betting apps were being traced and it has been found that bank accounts in the name of various fictitious entities have been opened for routing and layering of money and after routing through multiple layers, the money is being sent abroad through bogus entities in the guise of imports.