Kolkata, 20 December (H.S.) : The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Friday said it has filed two supplementary prosecution complaints in separate money laundering cases in West Bengal before a special court under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) in Kolkata.

According to the ED, one supplementary complaint was filed on December 12 in connection with the online gaming application Fiewin, while the other was filed on December 8 in a case related to R.P. Infosystems Limited.

In the Fiewin case, the ED has named Utkarsh Arya and Sujit Kumar Jha as accused. The agency has also arraigned twelve companies beneficially owned by Sujit Kumar Jha. The ED alleged that these companies were used as a corporate structure to conceal, possess and acquire the Proceeds of Crime (POC) generated through the Fiewin gaming app and project them as legitimate business income.

The ED stated that Fiewin came into existence during the Covid-19 period in 2020 and continued operations until June 2023. The app was promoted as a platform to earn fast and easy money and was widely marketed through YouTube, Facebook and other digital platforms. The games offered on the app, such as Minesweeper and colour prediction, were based purely on luck, with no role of player skill.

The investigation was initiated following an FIR registered by the Cossipore Police Station in Kolkata under various sections of the Indian Penal Code, 1860, against unknown persons for cheating and criminal conspiracy through the online gaming app.

According to the ED’s findings, the app was operated by Chinese nationals with the help of Indian associates. The accused and their linked companies allegedly transferred the Proceeds of Crime to Chinese nationals. The ED claimed that around Rs 400 crore was generated through the Fiewin app fraud and routed to Binance wallets in the names of Chinese nationals. Communication and instructions were allegedly exchanged through digital platforms, particularly Telegram groups.

The ED has already attached assets worth Rs 25.78 crore in the Fiewin case.

In the second matter related to R.P. Infosystems Limited, the ED has named Ontrack Systems Limited as an accused. The agency alleged that the company was involved in concealment, possession, acquisition and use of the Proceeds of Crime. Hari Balasubramanian has also been arraigned for allegedly knowingly facilitating and failing to prevent the misuse of company accounts and assets for money laundering.

Further investigation in both cases is ongoing, the ED said.

Hindusthan Samachar / Satya Prakash Singh