India Announces 'Successful' Crackdown on E-Nugget Scam — Seizes $10M in Crypto From Exchanges

India’s Enforcement Directorate has declared its multi-year crackdown on the “E-Nugget” scam in Kolkata successful. The operation has resulted in cash and crypto seizures, along with the arrest of the mastermind. Investigations uncovered numerous dummy accounts and led to the freezing of digital assets at various crypto exchanges, which were then transferred to the ED’s wallet.

ED Claims Successful Operation in E-Nugget Case

India’s Directorate of Enforcement (ED) announced last week that it has conducted a successful operation against “a major online gaming app scam known as E-Nugget.” The ED began its investigation into the scam in 2022.

Posing as a lucrative gaming platform, E-Nugget enticed users with promises of high returns on investments through real-money games and substantial commissions. However, the app ceased operations post-investment, leaving users stranded without access to their funds.

“The unraveling began in 2022 when ED exposed the operation, and discovered that
part of the ill-gotten gains was invested in digital assets,” the announcement details. “During investigation, nearly 2500 mule/ dummy bank accounts were identified, and the same were analyzed. During searches, cash amount totaling to Rs. 19 Crore approx. were seized. Mastermind of the scam namely Aamir Khan was also arrested and is presently in judicial custody.”

The announcement further explains that ED “sought details of a number of crypto wallets with several exchanges notably Binance, Zebpay & Wazirx,” elaborating:

Information gathered from Binance, and other exchanges led to freezing of funds totalling to nearly Rs. 90 crore available in 70 accounts, maintained with Binance, Zebpay and Wazirx holding funds, which were linked to the scam.

“These crypto assets were subsequently taken into possession of ED and transferred into the crypto wallet of ED,” the Indian authority clarified.

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