In further troubles for WinZO, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) has now filed a prosecution complaint against the gaming startup, its directors, and related Indian and foreign subsidiaries, alleging large-scale manipulation of games and laundering of proceeds of crime. In a statement, the ED said its Bengaluru zonal office filed the complaint on January 23 before the Special PMLA Court in Bengaluru. WinZO has been arraigned as the main accused along with its directors, Paavan Nanda and Saumya Singh Rathore, and its wholly owned subsidiaries, including entities based in the US and Singapore. According to the agency, its investigation revealed that most of WinZO’s real money games were manipulated using bots and AI-driven profiles. Users were allegedly lured with small bonuses and early wins, before being systematically pitted against harder bots, resulting in heavy losses. The ED estimates that genuine users lost around INR 734 Cr to such bot-driven gameplay. The probe was initiated on the basis of multiple FIRs registered by police authorities in Karnataka, Rajasthan, Delhi, and Gurugram for alleged cheating. Subsequently, during search operations carried out in November and December 2025, the ED froze WinZO’s assets worth approximately INR 690 Cr, which it identified as proceeds of crime.… Read MoreInc42 Media
