WinZO case: Founders Saumya, Paavan arrested; ED says company held ₹43 crore of gamers’ funds — 10 points

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has taken action against the online gaming company WinZO. Officials said Thursday they arrested its founders, Saumya Singh Rathore and Paavan Nanda, in connection with a money laundering case. News agency PTI reported that the ED produced the two founders before a local court in Bengaluru the same night. The court sent them to one day's custody. They are expected to be produced again before the court for a detailed order.

An individual privy to the development told Mint, "ED Bangalore zone has arrested Ms. Saumya Singh Rathore and Sh. Paavan Nanda, Directors of M/s. Winzo Games Pvt Ltd yesterday and they were produced before the home office of Hon'ble judge. The court has given them to ED custody and directed to produce them at 11:30 am today, for detailed arguments, on Remand application filed by the Department. Action has come after searches conducted by ED recently."

Here are the 10 key points on the WinZO money laundering case:

1. ₹505 crore frozen: The arrest came days after the ED said it froze collective deposits worth about ₹523 crore of online gaming companies WinZO and Gameskraft.

The alleged proceeds of crime, worth approximately ₹505 crore, “possessed” by WinZO Games, were frozen under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), the ED stated in a press release on 24 November.

The agency added that “these deposits are kept in bank accounts in the form of bonds, fixed deposits and mutual funds.”

The ED reportedly alleged that the platforms “held” funds worth crores of rupees that should ideally have been refunded to players after India banned real-money gaming recently.

2. Why did ED launch a probe against WinZo? The ED informed on 24 November that it had initiated the investigation based on the FIRs filed against M/S WinZO Games Pvt. Ltd and others “on the grounds of cheating, blocking of accounts, impersonation, misuse of PAN, etc”.

It was also alleged in the FIRs that the complainants' KYC was misused by WinZO and others, and the "complainants suffered substantial loss due to fraudulent activities and cheating by WinZO and others."

3. WinZo still holds ₹43 crore: The ED alleged that WinZo still holds ₹43 crore even after the ban of RMGs (Real Money Games) by the Union Government, without refunding the amount.

The ED said, “Even after the ban of RMGs [Real Money Games] by the Union government (w.e.f. 22/08/2025), an amount of ₹43 crore is still held by the company without refunding to the gamers/customers.”

4. According to the PTI report, the federal probe agency conducted multiple searches between 18 and 22 November in Delhi, Bengaluru and Gurugram as part of a money laundering investigation against these platforms' parent companies – Nirdesa Networks Pvt. Ltd. (NNPL), Gameskraft Technologies Pvt. Ltd. (GTPL) and WinZO Games Pvt. Ltd – and their promoters. These platforms offered online real-money gaming services to players.

5. ‘Customers made to play with software, not humans’: The ED accused WinZO of “engaging in criminal activities and unscrupulous practices as customers were made to play with algorithms without being made aware of the fact that they are playing with the software and not with humans in real-money games”.

The ED said customers were made to play with “algorithms/software without being made aware of the fact that they are playing with software/algorithms and not with humans in real money games”.

6. The ED reportedly said in a statement that WinZO was operating real-money games (RMGs) in countries such as Brazil, the US and Germany, etc., from India (on the same platform used by the Indian entity).

The agency claimed to have found that WinZO's global operations were undertaken through a single app, meaning they were hosted on the India-based platform.

7. “It was also found that the funds by the Indian entity have been diverted to the US and Singapore under the garb of overseas investment,” the ED said in a 24 November statement.

“Funds worth USD 55 million (about ₹489.90 crore) have been parked in their (WinZO) bank account in the US, which is a shell company since all the operations and day-to-day business activities and operation of bank accounts were done from India,” the agency added.

8. The ED also said WinZO prevented or limited withdrawals of money held by the customers in the wallets and generated alleged illicit funds in the form of bet amounts placed and lost by real customers through the "unscrupulous" use of algorithms/software.

9. WinZO spokesperson reacts: A WinZO spokesperson was quoted as saying in a statement that the company was “cooperating fully with the investigating agency and will continue to support the process”.

“Fairness and transparency are core to how WinZO designs and operates its platform. Our focus remains on protecting our users and ensuring a secure, trustworthy experience,” WinZO said in its statement.

10. Who are Saumya Singh Rathore and Paavan Nanda arrested in the case?

Saumya Singh Rathore, arrested in the money laundering case, is a co-founder of WinZO. She and another accused, Paavan Nanda, were previously colleagues from Zo Rooms.

Saumya Singh Rathore emerged as one of the youngest new additions to the Kotak Private Banking Hurun Leading Wealthy Women List 2021, with a wealth of ₹520 crore.

Meanwhile, Paavan Nanda, 38, is an Indian entrepreneur and co‑founder of WinZO. Before founding WinZO in 2018, he helped build Zostel, a chain of backpacker hostels, and its budget hotel aggregator, ZO Rooms.