Illegal forex trading: ED freezes Rs 2.7 crore in bank accounts | India News
NEW DELHI: Enforcement Directorate conducted co-ordinated searches in Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata and Delhi as part of a probe into the case of illegal online forex trading through the octafx.com website and mobile app.
OctaFx India Pvt Ltd, OctaFx and their associated entities have been accused of cheating investors under the guise of forex trading, thereby earning a profit of more than Rs 500 crore from India, ED said.A part of these funds was layered through a web of complex transactions with the help of shell entities and remitted abroad to its related entities under the guise of bogus freight services, import of services, etc.
The agency has already attached Rs 35 crore of assets, including cryptocurrencies, bank balances, and gold coins of the accused after finding they were involved in laundering the ‘proceeds of crime’ through shell companies based in Spain, Russia and Dubai. During the search operations, bank deposits of Rs 2.7 crore have been frozen, and incriminating documents and digital devices have been seized.
“Investigation revealed that multiple accounts in different Indian banks were opened to receive funds from investors on the OctaFx trading app/www.octafx.com,” ED said. Funds were collected under the guise of facilitating forex trading. However, the probe found that OctaFx manipulated trade activities and cheated its investors, resulting in net loss to them.
The accumulated funds were transferred to multiple e-wallet accounts or to bank accounts of dummy entities.
“A network of chartered accountants and professionals provided fake certificates of remittances and facilitated bank accounts/companies for the layering of such funds,” ED said, adding, “It has been revealed that the process of reflecting account numbers of dummy entities, managing the funds collected in these accounts, and diverting the same are being managed and operated by the owner of OctaFx group entities in Spain, Russia, Georgia and Dubai.”
OctaFx India Pvt Ltd, OctaFx and their associated entities have been accused of cheating investors under the guise of forex trading, thereby earning a profit of more than Rs 500 crore from India, ED said.A part of these funds was layered through a web of complex transactions with the help of shell entities and remitted abroad to its related entities under the guise of bogus freight services, import of services, etc.
The agency has already attached Rs 35 crore of assets, including cryptocurrencies, bank balances, and gold coins of the accused after finding they were involved in laundering the ‘proceeds of crime’ through shell companies based in Spain, Russia and Dubai. During the search operations, bank deposits of Rs 2.7 crore have been frozen, and incriminating documents and digital devices have been seized.
“Investigation revealed that multiple accounts in different Indian banks were opened to receive funds from investors on the OctaFx trading app/www.octafx.com,” ED said. Funds were collected under the guise of facilitating forex trading. However, the probe found that OctaFx manipulated trade activities and cheated its investors, resulting in net loss to them.
The accumulated funds were transferred to multiple e-wallet accounts or to bank accounts of dummy entities.
“A network of chartered accountants and professionals provided fake certificates of remittances and facilitated bank accounts/companies for the layering of such funds,” ED said, adding, “It has been revealed that the process of reflecting account numbers of dummy entities, managing the funds collected in these accounts, and diverting the same are being managed and operated by the owner of OctaFx group entities in Spain, Russia, Georgia and Dubai.”
This article was originally published by a timesofindia.indiatimes.com
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