ED raids Razorpay, Paytm, Cashfree

|The Den|

The Enforcement Directorate said on Saturday that it is raiding the Bengaluru offices of online payment gateways such as Razorpay, Paytm, and Cashfree as part of an ongoing investigation into "illegal" instant smartphone-based loans "controlled" by Chinese individuals.

The searches began on Friday at six locations in Karnataka's capital city, according to a statement. The search is still ongoing, said the Enforcement Directorate.

During the raids, the central investigation agency said it seized Rs 17 crore in funds held in "merchant IDs and bank accounts of these Chinese persons-controlled entities."

It is alleged that these entities use forged Indian documents to create dummy directors, resulting in the generation of "criminal proceeds."

"These entities are controlled/operated by Chinese individuals," the report stated.

"It was discovered that the aforementioned entities were conducting suspected/illegal business through various merchant IDs/accounts held with payment gateways/banks."

"The search operation includes the premises of Razorpay Pvt Ltd, Cashfree Payments, Paytm Payment Services Ltd, and entities controlled/operated by Chinese persons," the ED said.

According to the ED, its money laundering case is based on at least 18 FIRs filed by the Bengaluru Police cyber crime station against "numerous entities/persons in connection with their involvement in extortion and harassment of the public who had availed small amount of loans through the mobile apps run by those entities/persons."