The Enforcement Directorate on Saturday said it is conducting searches at the Bengaluru premises of online payment gateways such as Razorpay, Paytm and Cashfree as part of its ongoing probe against “illegal” instant smartphone-based loans “controlled” by Chinese individuals.
It said in a statement that searches were launched at six premises in the Karnataka capital on Friday.
The Enforcement Directorate said that the search operation is on.
The Federal Investigation Agency said it had seized money worth Rs 17 crore held in “trader IDs and bank accounts of entities controlled by these Chinese individuals” during the raid.
The modus operandi of these entities is that they use forged documents of Indians and make them dummy directors thereby generating “crime proceeds”.
“These entities are controlled/operated by Chinese individuals,” it said.
“It is learned that the said entities were carrying on their suspicious/illegal business through various merchant IDs/accounts with payment gateways/banks.”
“The premises of Razorpay Pvt Ltd, Cashfree Payments, Paytm Payment Services Ltd and entities controlled/ operated by Chinese persons have been included in the search operation,” the ED said.
The entities under investigation were generating proceeds of crime through various merchant IDs/accounts with payment gateways/banks and they are also not functioning from the address given on MCA (Ministry of Corporate Affairs) website/registered address and They have “fake”. address, the agency said.
The ED said that its money laundering case is based on at least 18 FIRs registered by the Bengaluru Police Cyber Crime Station against “multiple entities/individuals for extortion and harassment of public taking loans of small amount through mobiles”. are included in. Apps run by those entities/individuals.”