New Delhi: During a search operation at the Binance Crypto Exchange, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) seized 150.22 Bitcoins, equivalent to Rs 22.82 crore, the ED said on Friday.
The ED took action under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002, with respect to a probe being conducted relating to the Mobile Gaming Application E-nuggets.
The instant case was opened based on a First Information Report filed by Park Street Police Station, Kolkata Police, on February 15, 2021, under various sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), against Aamir Khan and others, in response to a complaint made by Federal Bank officials in the court of Chief Metropolitan Magistrate, Calcutta. The accused Aamir Khan launched a mobile gaming appl namely E-Nuggets, which was made for the purpose of defrauding the public, ED mentioned.
Furthermore, the agency said that, after receiving a sizable donation from the public, the withdrawal from the E-Nuggets App was abruptly stopped, on various pretexts. The ED reported that "subsequently, all data, including profile information, was wiped out from the E-Nuggets App servers."
During investigation, it was revealed that multiple accounts, over 300 accounts, were used to launder the money, it said, adding "proceeds were also used to buy Crypto currencies".
Earlier, during an inquiry against Aamir Khan and his colleagues, a total of Rs 17.32 crore in cash was discovered and taken from the accused's home.
The agency said, the 85.91870554 Bitcoins that were found in balance on the Binance Exchange and were equivalent to USD 16,74,255.7 (about comparable to Rs 13.56 crore at the time, based on market exchange rates) were frozen. The ED said that "a sum of Rs 5.47 crore as found in the bank account of Aamir Khan and his accomplice has been frozen," adding that cryptocurrency accounts at WazirX, including WRX (the utility token of WazirX) and USDT, have been frozen.
Romen Agarwal was arrested for his active participation in intra- or inter-country transactions related to the transfer of ill-gotten money within and outside the countries received from criminals. Cash totaling Rs 1.65 crore and 44.5 Bitcoins (then valued at Rs 7.12 crore) were seized and frozen from Romen Agarwal's residential property. He is currently being held by authorities.
During investigations conducted under PMLA thus far, an amount of Rs 68.42 cr has been seized and frozen in total, it said.
Binance won’t bail out FTX, Cryptocurrencies at record low
Binance plans to purchase its rival FTX
Support for free speech is reason he invested in Twitter: Binance CEO