Separately, it froze almost $550,000 in a combination of US Dollars and WRX.
The accused was captured on September 25 by ED.
The top Indian financial crime investigation agency has blocked an account on Binance containing 85.9 bitcoins, or around $1.6 million, in connection with a gaming software fraud case that dates back two years. Separately, it froze almost $550,000 in a combination of US Dollars and WazirX’s local currency, WRX.
A large sum of Indian money, over $2.2 million, was confiscated in a series of raids conducted by the agency earlier this month in Kolkata. Aamir Khan, 25 years old, is accused of pulling off a swindle for an estimated $8.5 million.
Money Laundering Scheme
During the majority of the Covid-19 blackout, players could participate in E-Nuggets and use the app wallet service to deposit funds and gain prizes by playing a variety of games. The accused also removed their profile information and all data from the App’s servers, according to the investigative agency.
The investigation agency said that Khan utilized a fake WazirX account to buy cryptocurrency and send it to the cryptocurrency exchange Binance.
On February 15, 2022, a First Information Report (FIR) was filed at the Park Street police station in Kolkata by Federal Bank, a large commercial bank. The financial institution filed a complaint regarding a possible money laundering scheme using Aamir Khan’s mobile game. However, it seems that the local police force was uninterested in investigating the matter.
The ED attempted to apprehend Aamir Khan during its searches on September 10, but was unsuccessful; the accused was not captured until September 25. Following the ED’s decision, the Kolkata Police Department also suspended the investigating officer, who was accused of lax investigation.
As regulatory scrutiny grows, the ED has been on the trail of fintech firms, cryptocurrency exchanges, and crypto fraudsters over the last several months.