ED Conducts Raids on Bengaluru Firm Linked to WinZO, Freezes Rs 192 Crore

The Enforcement Directorate's Bengaluru Zonal Office carried out a targeted search operation on Tuesday at the premises of the accounting firm linked to WinZO Pvt Ltd, exercising authority under Section 17 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002. The action forms part of an intensified investigation into alleged financial malpractices associated with the company's popular online real money gaming application, which has attracted millions of users across India.

In the course of the raid, officials identified and provisionally froze assets valued at approximately Rs 192 crore, classified as Proceeds of Crime belonging to ZO Games Pvt Ltd, the fully owned Indian subsidiary of WinZO Pvt Ltd. These funds were secured across various financial instruments, including bank account balances, fixed deposit receipts, and investments in mutual funds, attached under the provisions of Section 17(1A) of the PMLA to prevent dissipation.

Earlier operations conducted on November 18, 2025, at WinZO's corporate offices and the residential premises of one of its directors yielded critical digital and documentary evidence pointing to deliberate deceptive mechanisms embedded within the platform. The probe established that genuine players were systematically pitted against automated bots, artificial intelligence systems, or pre-programmed algorithms—internally referred to as PPP/EP/Persona—without any disclosure, fundamentally undermining the fairness of real money contests.

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Further scrutiny revealed additional exploitative practices, such as imposing restrictions or outright blocks on customer withdrawals from in-app wallets, effectively trapping user funds. The company allegedly derived substantial illicit income through rake commissions charged on matches involving these bots, reportedly generating around Rs 177 crore from such activities between May 2024 and August 2025, alongside an estimated Rs 557 crore from April 2022 to December 2023.

The cumulative assessment indicates that WinZO accumulated Proceeds of Crime amounting to roughly Rs 802 crore, incorporating approximately Rs 43 crore held in user wallets. The investigation remains active, with authorities continuing to trace the flow of funds and examine potential broader implications for consumer protection and regulatory compliance in the rapidly expanding online gaming industry.

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