The Directorate of Enforcement (ED) has frozen assets worth approximately ₹192 crore belonging to Zo Games Pvt Ltd, a wholly owned Indian subsidiary of online gaming platform WinZO Pvt Ltd, as part of an ongoing money laundering investigation under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
In a press release issued on Monday, the ED said the assets were classified as Proceeds of Crime (PoC) and included bank balances, fixed deposits, and mutual fund investments. The freeze followed search operations conducted at company-linked locations.
According to the agency, preliminary findings point to deceptive gaming practices on the WinZO platform. The ED alleged that users were made to participate in real-money games against bots and algorithm-driven entities without adequate disclosure. Investigators also found instances where withdrawals of user funds were restricted or blocked, leading to financial losses for players.
So far, the ED has identified total Proceeds of Crime of around ₹802 crore in the case.
The latest action follows earlier enforcement measures taken in November 2025, when the ED arrested WinZO co-founders Paavan Nanda and Saumya Singh Rathore after conducting search and seizure operations at company offices and residences. At that time, the agency had frozen assets worth more than ₹505 crore linked to the company and its associated entities.
The investigation stems from multiple FIRs and hundreds of user complaints alleging manipulation of gameplay, misuse of customer data, non-refund of deposits, and continued real-money gaming operations despite regulatory restrictions. Officials said user funds remained parked with the platform even after restrictions on real-money gaming were imposed.
The ED has also flagged overseas fund movements linked to the case. A portion of the alleged Proceeds of Crime was routed to the US and Singapore, with around $54 million found parked in a US bank account held by WINZO US Inc.
The WinZO probe is part of a broader enforcement push in 2025, during which the ED initiated action against several startup origin firms, including Dream11, Gameskraft, Probo, Paytm, Myntra, Simpl, and OctaFX, across money laundering, FEMA, and foreign exchange related cases.
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