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The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has issued a provisional attachment order of movable assets in the form of cryptocurrencies worth approximately Rs 2,385 crore in connection with its ongoing money laundering investigation into the unauthorised forex trading platform OctaFX.
The Directorate took the action under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002. The alleged mastermind behind the scheme, Pavel Prozorov, was recently arrested in Spain by Spanish authorities for his involvement in international cybercrimes affecting multiple countries, the agency said. The ED's probe was initiated following a First Information Report (FIR) filed at Shivaji Nagar Police Station in Pune against several individuals accused of defrauding investors by promising high returns through OctaFX. ED's investigation revealed that OctaFX allegedly duped Indian investors of approximately Rs 1,875 Crore between July 2022 and April 2023, generating profits of around Rs 800 crore. "Considering the company's operations from 2019 to 2024, total profits from India are estimated to exceed Rs 5,000 Crore, much of which has been illicitly transferred overseas," said the agency. OctaFX presented itself as an online forex trading platform for currency, commodities, and crypto trading without RBI permission. The initial investors received small profits to build trust, as is generally seen in a typical ponzi scheme. ED said its probe has also revealed that OctaFX operated through a distributed global network designed to evade regulatory scrutiny and layer illicit funds across jurisdictions. "The probe revealed that marketing activities were handled by entities in the British Virgin Islands (BVI); entities and persons in Spain hosted servers and back-office operations; entities in Estonia managed payment gateways; entities in Georgia provided technical support; entity in Cyprus served as the holding company for the Indian entity; entities and persons in Dubai oversaw Indian operations via Russian promoters; and entities in Singapore facilitated the export of bogus services to launder funds abroad. "OctaFX manipulated trading operations, using falsified candlestick charts and deliberate slippage, ensuring consistent investor losses. OctaFX floated an Introducing Brokers (IB) scheme to lure more investors, where individuals and entities referring clients were offered hefty commissions based on client trading activity. OctaFX also employed Indians in Russia and Spain to provide localised support for Indian clients," said the ED. The agency further said that OctaFX collected investor funds via UPI and local bank transfers, which were routed through dummy Indian entities and individuals' accounts, layered across multiple mule accounts. (ANI)
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