ED Freezes Rs 16.43 Crore During Raids on Payment Aggregators in Bengaluru, Pune

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has taken action against payment aggregators in Bengaluru and Pune, freezing amounts totaling Rs 16.43 crore in a web-based mobile application called “Dani Data” and others. This action was carried out under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002, following search operations conducted by the Ahmedabad Zonal Office of the ED on March 20 at six premises of the payment aggregators.

The investigation is focused on the merchant IDs used for collecting payments through the Dani Data App from the general public. The case is being probed based on an FIR registered by the Cyber Crime police station in Palanpur, Gujarat’s Banaskantha district, against the controllers of the web-based application called “Dani Data” and others.

According to the ED, the controllers of the Dani Data application offered guaranteed returns on investments made by the public, enticing individuals with a minimum return of 0.75 per cent per game. Thousands of people were lured into making deposits through the app, but the accused later removed the application from the Google Play Store after substantial amounts were deposited.

The investigation revealed a conspiracy involving the accused, including a Chinese national, who cheated and induced thousands of investors to deposit crores of rupees through the app. This action follows previous searches conducted by the ED on November 1 last year at 14 premises in Delhi and Gujarat in connection with the case.