The Enforcement Directorate (ED) is investigating OctaFX, an online trading platform whose promoters are based in Russia, technical support runs from Georgia, India operations are managed from Dubai, and servers are located in Barcelona. The probe has turned into a broader study of cross‑border operations that allegedly convert proceeds of crime into cryptocurrencies and use international payment gateways, reported The Times of India.
According to ED findings, OctaFX, incorporated in Cyprus and operating in forex, commodities, and cryptocurrencies, generated around Rs 800 crore of suspected proceeds of crime from its Indian business in just nine months, the report added.
Some of these transactions, the ED said, were disguised as “fake imports of services” from Singapore to mask illicit flows from India. In one instance, assets worth Rs 172 crore were attached in India and abroad, including a yacht, a villa in Spain, Rs 36 crore in bank deposits, 39,000 USDT cryptocurrency, and demat and land holdings worth Rs 80 crore, the report said.
The Mumbai zonal unit of the ED is probing OctaFX, but it is among several platforms under investigation for alleged investment frauds. Others include Power Bank (Bengaluru unit), Angel One, TM Traders, and Vivan Li (Kolkata unit), and Zara FX (Kochi unit). These cases arise from multiple FIRs filed in different cities.
The ED’s study highlighted similar patterns in other scams. “Cyber frauds in the name of cryptocurrency included Birfa IT and related firms acting as brokers, converting huge amounts of money to and from crypto to help clients send money to China for under‑invoiced imports, laundering the PoC (proceeds of crime) through cryptocurrency,” it stated. In the Birfa case alone, Rs 4,818 crore was allegedly remitted to Hong Kong and Canadian entities controlled by fraudsters, justified as payments for leasing servers or escrow services, but supported by fake invoices.
The ED report also said Indians lost over Rs 22,800 crore in about 36.4 lakh financial fraud cases in 2024 — a rise of more than 200% in losses compared with Rs 7,465 crore in 2023, along with a more than 50% increase in the number of cases.
In another case examined, fraudsters operating from Laos, Hong Kong, and Thailand hired Indian agents to create shell companies with forged documents, issue fake IPO allotments, and conduct sham stock investments and digital arrests. Proceeds were channelled through cryptocurrencies and sent overseas as payments for fake “import of services.”
The ED found that while some of these funds moved via payment gateways, hawala routes were also used, and portions of the laundered money were re‑introduced into India disguised as legitimate stock market investments.
With inputs from ToI
According to ED findings, OctaFX, incorporated in Cyprus and operating in forex, commodities, and cryptocurrencies, generated around Rs 800 crore of suspected proceeds of crime from its Indian business in just nine months, the report added.
Some of these transactions, the ED said, were disguised as “fake imports of services” from Singapore to mask illicit flows from India. In one instance, assets worth Rs 172 crore were attached in India and abroad, including a yacht, a villa in Spain, Rs 36 crore in bank deposits, 39,000 USDT cryptocurrency, and demat and land holdings worth Rs 80 crore, the report said.
The Mumbai zonal unit of the ED is probing OctaFX, but it is among several platforms under investigation for alleged investment frauds. Others include Power Bank (Bengaluru unit), Angel One, TM Traders, and Vivan Li (Kolkata unit), and Zara FX (Kochi unit). These cases arise from multiple FIRs filed in different cities.
The ED’s study highlighted similar patterns in other scams. “Cyber frauds in the name of cryptocurrency included Birfa IT and related firms acting as brokers, converting huge amounts of money to and from crypto to help clients send money to China for under‑invoiced imports, laundering the PoC (proceeds of crime) through cryptocurrency,” it stated. In the Birfa case alone, Rs 4,818 crore was allegedly remitted to Hong Kong and Canadian entities controlled by fraudsters, justified as payments for leasing servers or escrow services, but supported by fake invoices.
The ED report also said Indians lost over Rs 22,800 crore in about 36.4 lakh financial fraud cases in 2024 — a rise of more than 200% in losses compared with Rs 7,465 crore in 2023, along with a more than 50% increase in the number of cases.
In another case examined, fraudsters operating from Laos, Hong Kong, and Thailand hired Indian agents to create shell companies with forged documents, issue fake IPO allotments, and conduct sham stock investments and digital arrests. Proceeds were channelled through cryptocurrencies and sent overseas as payments for fake “import of services.”
The ED found that while some of these funds moved via payment gateways, hawala routes were also used, and portions of the laundered money were re‑introduced into India disguised as legitimate stock market investments.
With inputs from ToI
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