Crypto trader Naisar Kothari arrested under PMLA
Online Chinese Betting Scam & International Hawala Case of Rs.1100 Crore
New Delhi: The Enforcement Directorate (ED), on Friday, has arrested a cryptocurrency trader Naisar Kothari in connection with its money laundering prove linked to an online Chinese betting scam and International Hawala case of over Rs.1,100 crore.
It said that Naisar Kothari, a resident of Bhavnagar in Gujarat, was arrested under sections of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) and he has been sent to the ED custody till December 22 by court.
The case came to light after the agency conducted multiple raids across the country in August at the registered offices of some companies, their directors and chartered accountants who were stated to be involved in illegally running online betting apps on websites which are hosted from outside India and some Chinese nationals operated them.
The Investigation agency in a statement said “Kothari has purchased USDT cryptocurrency on behalf of an accused company and had transferred them to unknown wallets of foreign exchanges”
ED added “It was found that Kothari had knowingly and actively involved himself in layering the proceeds of crime and hence he was arrested”
However, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) initiated investigation under PMLA against Linkyun Technology Private Limited and Dokypay Private Limited and others based on an FIR registered by Hyderabad CCS Police under sections 420 and 120B of IPC on the basis of complaint received form one of the victim who had lost money by investing in the betting application.
However, subsequent investigation had revealed that apart from proving payment aggregator re-seller services to banned apps in India, these Chinese owned companies were indulging in International Hawala and illegal activities.
“Login credentials and dongles for HSBC Bank account and Payment Aggregators like Paytm, Cashfree, Razorpay were shipped to China and were being operated from there and three persons, including one Chinese national, were arrested earlier in this case and a chargesheet has been filed against them in the PMLA court”, the prove agency official said.
Further investigations in this case is under progress.
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