Why ED froze Rs 192 crore of WinZO assets: Alleged bot gaming, withdrawals, and overseas funds

The Directorate of Enforcement (ED), Bengaluru Zonal Office, has frozen assets worth around Rs 192 crore belonging to Zo Games Pvt Ltd, a wholly owned Indian subsidiary of WinZO Pvt Ltd, following search operations conducted under the Prevention of Money-Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002.

In a statement, the ED said the assets were classified as Proceeds of Crime (POC) and frozen in the form of bank balances, fixed deposits and mutual funds under Section 17(1A) of the PMLA. The action followed a search carried out on December 30, 2025, at the premises of the accounting firm linked to WinZO Pvt Ltd, which operates an online real money gaming platform through its WinZO app.

The agency said the latest searches build on earlier search and seizure operations conducted on November 18, 2025, at the company’s offices and at the residential premises of one of its directors. Based on evidence gathered during the searches and subsequent investigation, the ED alleged that WinZO was engaged in deceptive and unlawful gaming practices.

According to the agency, users on the WinZO platform were made to play real money games against bots, AI systems, or algorithm-driven personas, referred to internally as PPP, EP or Persona, without being informed that they were not playing against human opponents. The ED also alleged that the company restricted or prevented withdrawals of user funds held in customer wallets.

The investigation further found that WinZO generated Proceeds of Crime in the form of “rake commission” earned from matches in which bots played against real users. The ED said the company earned winnings of around Rs 177 crore from such activities between May 2024 and August 2025, and approximately Rs 557 crore between April 2022 and December 2023.

In addition, user funds amounting to about Rs 43 crore were allegedly retained by the platform even after restrictions and bans on real money gaming were imposed by the Union government.

So far, the ED has identified total Proceeds of Crime of around Rs 802 crore in the case.

The agency also flagged overseas fund movements, stating that a portion of the alleged proceeds was routed out of India to the United States and Singapore under the guise of overseas investments. Funds worth $54 million were found parked in a US bank account held in the name of WINZO US Inc. The ED described this entity as a shell company, noting that its operations and day-to-day banking activities were controlled from India.

Earlier in November 2025, the ED arrested WinZO co-founders Paavan Nanda and Saumya Singh Rathore following search operations. Those actions had led to the freezing of assets worth over Rs 505 crore, including bank balances, fixed deposits, mutual funds and other financial instruments linked to the company and related entities.

The case is based on multiple FIRs and hundreds of user complaints alleging manipulation of gameplay, misuse of customer data, non-refund of user funds, and continuation of real money gaming activities despite regulatory restrictions.

The WinZO probe forms part of a broader enforcement push in 2025. During the year, the ED initiated action against several startup-origin companies, including Dream11, Gameskraft, Probo, Paytm, Myntra, Simpl and OctaFX, under money laundering, FEMA and foreign exchange-related investigations. Further investigation in the WinZO case is ongoing.