ED Freezes ₹192 Crore Linked to Winzo Money Laundering Case
ED Freezes ₹192 Crore Linked to Winzo Money Laundering Case
Winzo money laundering case: ED raids ZO Games and freezes ₹192 crore assets
Highlights
- ED freezes ₹192 crore (~$21.3 million USD) linked to ZO Games after PMLA searches at premises associated with WinZO.
- Probe alleges bot-driven games and restricted withdrawals without user disclosure.
- Total alleged proceeds of crime are estimated at ₹802 crore (~$88.94M), with funds moved overseas.
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has frozen assets worth around ₹192 crore (~$21.3 million USD) linked to online real money gaming company Winzo Pvt. Ltd. following a search operation conducted on Dec. 30, 2025, under the Prevention of Money-Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002.
The action was carried out by the ED’s Bengaluru Zonal Office and confirmed through an official post on X (formerly Twitter) and a press release dated Jan. 1, 2026.
According to the ED, the searches were conducted at the office premises of the accounting firm associated with Winzo. During the operation, bank balances, fixed deposit receipts (FDRs), and mutual fund holdings worth approximately ₹192 crore (~$21.3M) belonging to ZO Games Pvt. Ltd., a wholly owned Indian subsidiary of Winzo Pvt. Ltd., were frozen under Section 17(1A) of the PMLA.
Winzo Money Laundering Case: ED Probe Details
The asset freeze follows earlier search and seizure operations conducted on Nov. 18, 2025, at Winzo’s office premises and the residential premises of its director.
The ED said evidence gathered during the investigation showed that customers were allegedly made to play real money games against bots, artificial intelligence (AI), and algorithms, internally termed PPP (Public-Private Partnership) or EP or Persona, without being informed they were not playing against human users.
“Winzo has also prevented and limited withdrawals of monies held by the customers in the wallets of Winzo Pvt Ltd,” the ED added.
The ED further alleged that Winzo generated proceeds of crime in the form of “rake commission” from matches played between bots and real players on the Winzo app.
The agency estimates winnings of about ₹177 crore (~$19.6M) from May 2024 to August 2025 and approximately ₹557 crore (~$61.76M) between April 2022 and December 2023. It also claimed the company held users’ funds amounting to ₹43 crore (~$4.77M) even after the Union government banned real money games, bringing the total alleged proceeds of crime to around ₹802 crore (~$88.94M).
According to the ED, part of the funds was moved to the United States and Singapore as overseas investments, with $54M allegedly parked in a U.S. account held in the name of WINZO US Inc., described as a shell entity. Further investigation is in progress.
Author
Probaho Santra is a content writer at Outlook India with a master’s degree in journalism. Outside work, he enjoys photography, exploring new tech trends, and staying connected with the esports world.
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