In an electrifying crackdown, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) arrested the founders of WinZO, Saumya Singh Rathore and Paavan Nanda, on Wednesday in Bengaluru. The ED suspects money laundering tied to the online money gaming giant, officials revealed on Thursday (November 27, 2025). Both founders were questioned at the ED’s zonal office before being put under one-day custody by a Bengaluru court. More hearings are expected soon for a detailed court order. Why all the fuss? On Monday, the ED claimed that WinZO was sitting on a whopping ₹43 crore of gamers’ money—money that should have been returned after the Indian government banned real-money gaming (RMG) from August 22, 2025. The ED also raided WinZO and Gamezkraft last week, targeting their promoters under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). According to the ED, WinZO played a sneaky game by using algorithms to pit players against software—not real people—without telling the gamers. This shady business went beyond India and included countries like Brazil, the U.S., and Germany, using the same India-based platform. The watchdog said, "Even after the ban of RMGs by the Union government (w.e.f. 22/08/2025), an amount of ₹43 crore is still held by the company without refunding to the gamers/customers." The enforcement agency froze bonds, fixed deposits, and mutual funds worth a staggering ₹505 crore owned by WinZO Games under PMLA rules. When reached for comment, a WinZO spokesperson stated, "Fairness and transparency are core to how WinZO designs and operates its platform. Our focus remains on protecting our users and ensuring a secure, trustworthy experience," adding that the company is fully compliant with the law. The ED further claimed that WinZO stopped or limited customer wallet withdrawals and generated illegal money from bets lost by real customers due to algorithm manipulation. Surprisingly, all global operations were run on this single India-based app platform. The ED also uncovered that funds from India were funneled to the U.S. and Singapore under the cover of overseas investments. They said about $55 million (nearly ₹490 crore) was parked in a U.S. bank account linked to a shell company while the daily business was run from India. Gamezkraft faced similar allegations. The drama is heating up in Bengaluru courts as the ED pushes for stronger action against these major players in the gaming world.