‘Designed to defraud’: ED freezes Bitcoins worth Rs 12.83 crore of gaming app E-nuggets

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Wednesday informed that it has frozen Bitcoins worth Rs 12.83 in an investigation against one Aamir Khan and others related to the mobile gaming application, E-nuggets. The central probe agency initiated a money laundering investigation against the firm when an FIR was filed in February 2021 by the Kolkata Police against one Aamir Khan and others, based on the complaint filed by Federal Bank authorities. 

According to the probe agency, Khan launched a mobile gaming application namely E-Nuggets, designed for the purpose of defrauding the public. 

"After collecting the amount of money from the public, all of a sudden withdrawal from the said App was stopped on one pretext or the other. Thereafter, all data including profile information was wiped off from the said App servers," the ED said. 

The central probe agency found that the accused was transferring part of the amount illegally earned through the gaming app (E-Nuggets) to overseas by using cryptocurrency exchanges. It was found that one such dummy account in the name of Sima Naskar was opened in the crypto exchange, WazirX, which was used to purchase cryptocurrencies and crypto assets.

"The cryptocurrencies were further transferred to another account in another Crypto Exchange namely “Binance”. The balance of said transferred cryptocurrencies i.e. Rs 12.83 crore approximately at Binance crypto exchange has been freezed," ED said.

Earlier, during a search operation conducted at the premises of Aamir Khan, an amount of Rs 17.32 crore was found and seized from his residential premises.

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