Rs 17.32 cr cash seized by ED after raids on Kolkata-based gaming app operator
New Delhi/Kolkata (PTI) The Enforcement Directorate on Sunday said the main accused in the fraud gaming app case is untraceable in which it has seized Rs 17.32 crore after raiding the promoters of a Kolkata-based mobile gaming company as part of a money laundering investigation.
The agency, official sources said, is looking at some "political links" of the app promoters and wants to ascertain the actual beneficiaries of this cash, even as it is investigating the possible routing of the funds spent by gullible gamers here through some "Chinese-controlled" entities.
A photograph released by the federal agency showed multiple bundles of Rs 500 currency notes along with a few in the denomination of Rs 2,000, Rs 200 and Rs 100 stacked on a bed depicting the ED abbreviation.
The sources said the cash was recovered from a premise which has an address mentioned as 'F 7. N A Khan' and is located in the Garden Reach area of Kolkata.
The ED said in a statement that "Aamir Khan, the main accused was not found and is not traceable".
"During the search, various incriminating documents have been recovered and seized. Cash amounting to Rs 17.32 crore has been found and seized from the premises during the search," the statement said.
Agency officials called in at least five note-counting machines and summoned bank staff to ascertain the exact value of the cash haul. A truck later ferried the cash that was kept and sealed in large steel trunks, to be deposited in a bank.
The searches were conducted at half-a-dozen locations linked to the gaming app named 'E-Nuggets', those linked to Khan and others.
CRPF personnel escorted the ED teams at locations like Garden Reach, Park Street and Mominpur areas in and around the West Bengal capital, among others.
In August, the ED had seized cash worth about Rs 50 crore along with jewellery and gold after it raided premises linked to Arpita Mukherjee, an alleged aide of former West Bengal minister Partha Chatterjee.
Both were arrested by the agency.
The latest raids sparked a fresh war of words between the ruling TMC in West Bengal and the BJP.
Senior Trinamool Congress (TMC) minister and Kolkata Mayor Firhad Hakim said his party has nothing to do with the businessman concerned but alleged that the Centre wanted to drive away investors from the state by spreading the fear of "harassment" by federal agencies.
The BJP rejected the charge, saying the raids were only against unscrupulous businessmen, and asked the TMC leader if he had anything to hide.
Hakim wondered if the ED's investigations into money laundering cases are restricted to states ruled by non-BJP parties like West Bengal.
"If Rs 7 crore has been unearthed, the source of that money should certainly be investigated. But what about Nirav Modi and Mehul Choksi who had swindled more than Rs 7,000 crore? Why did their wrongdoing not come to light before they left (India)?
"There are businessmen in BJP-ruled states and they might also have amassed large amounts of money," he said.
"Does that mean that the raids will be directed selectively against businessmen of non-BJP ruled states like Bengal? It is for dissuading investors from coming to Bengal in the fear of harassment by central agencies," the senior TMC leader alleged.
Reacting to Hakim's comments, BJP state spokesperson Samik Bhattacharya claimed that such statements come from fear as people are aware of the "unholy nexus" between money launderers and the TMC.
"The ED raid is not directed against the business community in general. It is only against unscrupulous businessmen. Does the former state transport minister have anything to hide?" Bhattacharya added.
The money laundering case stems from an FIR filed by the Kolkata Police against the company and its promoters in February 2021.
This FIR was registered at the Park Street police station based on a complaint filed by the Federal Bank authorities before a court in Kolkata, the ED said.
Aamir Khan, son of businessman Nesar Ahmed Khan, launched the mobile gaming application E-Nuggets that was designed to defraud the public, the agency alleged.
"During the initial period, the users were rewarded with a commission and the balance in the wallet could be withdrawn hassle-free.
"This provided initial confidence among users, and they started investing bigger amounts for a greater percentage of commission and a greater number of purchase orders," it said.
The ED said that after collecting a "handsome amount" from the public, withdrawal from the said app was stopped all of a sudden under one pretext or the other such as system upgradation and investigation by law enforcement agencies.
Later, all data, including profile information, was wiped off the app servers. It was then that the users understood the ploy, the ED said.
Official sources said the agency is investigating if this app and its operators had links with other 'Chinese controlled' apps that had been issuing loans at exorbitant rates to gullible persons. In many cases, the loan takers ended their lives after they were threatened by these loan operators to pay up.
Operations of online gaming businesses are under the scanner of the probe agencies. The Income-Tax department in February raided a Mumbai-based group engaged in online cricket betting and gaming.
Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) Chairman Nitin Gupta recently told PTI that the department found that around 8 million (80 lakh) players were registered with this gaming portal and the gross earnings detected in this case were to the tune of Rs 58,000 crore over the last three years.
The CBDT, soon after these raids, had said in a statement that the department detected a "cash" turnover of Rs 600 crore that was made by the company in six months.
All these transactions and earnings in the Mumbai case were not reported to the tax authorities, according to official sources.
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Karnataka to approach SC seeking permission to continue MGNREGA
Bengaluru (PTI): The Karnataka Cabinet on Thursday decided to approach the Supreme Court seeking permission to continue implementation of MGNREGA in the state, contending that the Centre had repealed the rural employment guarantee law without consultation and failed to put in place any alternative mechanism under the VB-G RAM G Act.
Briefing reporters after the Cabinet meeting, Karnataka Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister H K Patil said the state would immediately move the apex court seeking permission to prepare and implement the annual action plan for rural employment works, while also challenging what it described as an infringement on the constitutional rights of states.
The parliament passed VB-G RAM G in December that replaces MGNREGA.
Patil explained that the Cabinet decided to approach the court seeking permission for the State Government to prepare an action plan in this regard. Since the Centre’s stand interferes with the constitutional rights of state governments, the Cabinet has also decided to challenge this issue before the appropriate court
“There are two points here. One is that they have come in the way of our constitutional right of providing the right to work. That has been halted, and, therefore, the State Government has decided to approach the Supreme Court. The second point is that the Government of India has not provided any alternative,” the Minister said.
The Central Government has not yet issued a notification to implement the VB-G RAM G Act, nor has it made any alternative arrangements and hence continuing Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) is unavoidable in the public interest, the Minister said.
“Therefore, in the interest of the public, farmers and agricultural labourers, we must continue MGNREGA. For that purpose, the Cabinet has decided to approach the court seeking permission for the State Government to prepare the action plan for this year,” he added.
The Minister also said the Centre had only permitted continuation of pending and spillover MGNREGA works without releasing grants or announcing a fresh action plan.
“The Centre itself has said that pending, spillover and half-done MGNREGA works can continue. That means MGNREGA is actually still functioning in practice. But there is no new action plan,” he said.
Patil said the state had already passed a resolution on the issue, while Chief Minister Siddaramaiah had written to the Prime Minister and the Rural Development Minister had held discussions with Union Ministers.
Replying to questions, the minister said the state would move court “as immediately as possible.”
He clarified that the state was seeking permission to formulate and implement this year’s action plan under the existing framework.
“What we are asking the Supreme Court is to allow us to have the action plan for this year and implement it,” he said.
The Cabinet also held detailed discussions on the final report submitted by the State Education Policy Commission headed by former UGC chairman Professor Sukhadeo Thorat.
Patil said a Cabinet sub-committee would be constituted to examine the report and recommend measures for implementation.
“No decision has been taken yet. The Cabinet sub-committee will recommend what should be accepted and what should be modified,” he said.
He said the report comprised around eight volumes and covered issues relating to financial implications, human resources, curriculum reforms, deemed universities, unitary universities and newly established universities. The Chief Minister has been authorised to constitute the sub-committee.
The Cabinet also approved the Karnataka Motor Transport and Other Related Workers’ Social Security and Welfare Amendment Bill, 2026, transferring welfare administration of transport-related workers from the Labour Department to the Transport Department.
The Cabinet further approved establishment of three new industrial estates in Kalaburagi, Yadgir and Surpur under the Karnataka State Small Industries Development Corporation and Kalyana Karnataka Region Development Board schemes at an estimated cost of Rs 200 crore.
The Cabinet also approved amendments to Karnataka Civil Services (General Recruitment) Rules, 2026, providing two per cent reservation in state civil services appointments for sportspersons.
