'Didn't return Rs 43 crore to gamers': ED arrests WinZO founders Saumya Singh Rathore and Paavan Nanda from Bengaluru

BENGALURU: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has arrested the founders of online money gaming platform WinZO — Saumya Singh Rathore and Paavan Nanda — on charges of money laundering, officials said on Thursday.

According to news agency PTI, the two were taken into custody in Bengaluru on Wednesday after being questioned at the agency’s zonal office. They were produced before a Bengaluru court the same night and remanded to one-day custody. Officials said they are likely to be brought back to court for further orders.




The arrests come days after the agency alleged that funds worth Rs 43 crore belonging to gamers were “held” by the company and should have been refunded following India’s ban on real-money gaming.

Last week, the ED raided the premises of WinZO and Gamezkraft — another online gaming operator — and their promoters under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).

In a statement issued on Monday, the agency accused WinZO of “engaging in criminal activities and unscrupulous practices” by allowing customers to play against algorithms “without being made aware of the fact that they are playing with the software and not with humans in real-money games”.

It also alleged that WinZO continued operating real-money games in countries including Brazil, the US and Germany through the same India-based platform.

According to the ED, the company has still not returned Rs 43 crore to players “even after the ban of RMGs by the Union government (w.e.f. 22/08/2025)”.

The agency said it had frozen bonds, fixed deposits and mutual funds worth ₹505 crore “possessed” by WinZO Games under PMLA provisions.

A spokesperson for WinZO rejected the allegations, saying, “Fairness and transparency are core to how WinZO designs and operates its platform.” The company added, “Our focus remains on protecting our users and ensuring a secure, trustworthy experience,” and said it remained compliant with all applicable laws.

The ED further alleged that WinZO prevented or limited customer withdrawals and generated illicit revenue from bets placed and lost by real users through the “unscrupulous” use of software.

Investigators also claimed the company was running its global operations through a single app hosted in India, and that funds from the Indian entity were diverted overseas “under the garb of overseas investments”.

The agency said USD 55 million (about ₹489.90 crore) had been found in a US-based bank account linked to what it described as a shell company, with all operations “done from India”.

The ED has made similar allegations against Gamezkraft, which was also raided during the operation.

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