Enforcement Directorate freezes Rs 78 corer deposits in Chinese loan app case

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, October 21

The Enforcement Directorate today said it had frozen fresh deposits worth Rs 78 crore following raids on the premises of payment gateway Razorpay and some banks as part its ongoing probe under provisions of the PMLA against the alleged illegal operations of loan apps “controlled” by Chinese nationals.

The searches were carried out on five premises in Bengaluru on October 19, the ED said in a statement.

Modus operandi

These entities are controlled by Chinese nationals. The modus operandi is to use forged documents of Indians and make them dummy directors and generate proceeds of crime. ED

The ED’s case under the PMLA is based on 18 FIRs filed by the cybercrime police station of the Bengaluru police against numerous entities and persons for their involvement in extortion and harassment of the public, who had availed of small loans through mobile apps being run by them. “It has come to notice that the said entities were doing their suspected/illegal business through various merchant IDs/accounts held with payment gateways and banks,” it further said. These entities were generating “proceeds of crime” through various merchant IDs and accounts held with payment gateways and banks.

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