ED Searches in Surat, Mehsana in Online Betting Fraud Case

Mumbai: The Enforcement Directorate (ED), Mumbai Zone-II, conducted search operations at 20 premises across Mumbai, Pune, Mehsana, Surat and Hyderabad on October 13, 2026, as part of a money laundering investigation into an alleged large-scale online betting, gaming and cyber fraud syndicate.

The searches were carried out under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002. The investigation centres on the online betting and gaming platforms All Panel Exchange (allpanelexch.com) and MGM91, through which complainants were allegedly induced to deposit money and subsequently cheated.

According to the ED, its investigation established that funds collected from victims of both platforms were routed through multiple channels and ultimately received in bank accounts of a Pune-based entity established by Ram U. Ramdhani. His company, Edsom Fintech Pvt. Ltd., had developed and operated an in-house payment intermediary platform called iPaisa.

The platform allegedly onboarded more than 200 shell and front entities, internally referred to as “merchants”, on behalf of online gaming, betting and cyber fraud operators and their agents, described as “Channel Partners” or “Carry & Forward Agents”.

The investigation has revealed that money collected from victims was routed through an extensive network of mule bank accounts. The ED has identified the controllers of the betting platforms and the shell entities allegedly used to channel the proceeds of crime. It also found that several individuals involved in operating these platforms were allegedly being directed by persons based in Dubai.

Certain cooperative banks allegedly facilitated the syndicate by providing infrastructure used to collect and layer illicit funds, the agency said.

The ED further found that the proceeds of crime generated through online betting, gaming and cyber fraud were allegedly siphoned off through three principal routes: remittances disguised as trade transactions involving over-invoicing; cash withdrawals from mule accounts opened under the guise of Agricultural Produce Market Committee (APMC) units; and conversion of funds into cryptocurrency for transferring the proceeds of crime outside India.

During the latest searches, the agency recovered and seized incriminating documents, digital devices and other material evidence related to the alleged layering and diversion of illicit funds. Multiple bank accounts belonging to the entities and individuals concerned have also been ordered frozen under the PMLA, 2002.

Earlier in the case, the ED had conducted searches at several locations in Pune, Mumbai and Bengaluru. It had also arrested Ram U. Ramdhani, founder of Edsom Fintech Pvt. Ltd., who remains in judicial custody.

Further investigation into the alleged money laundering network is underway. DeshGujarat