Binance Helps Indian Authorities Bust $47.6 Million Gaming Scam

In one of the latest collaborations between public and private entities, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, Binance, announced that it helped Indian authorities take down a supposedly legitimate online gaming app that defrauded users of over 400 million rupees ($47.6 million).

According to a blog post, Binance’s Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) provided critical assistance that enabled India’s Enforcement Directorate (ED) to trace funds diverted by the app’s operators of Fiewin games and discover the network.

Binance helps ED in cases of fraud

Fiewin operators marketed the app as a project that allows users to earn money by playing mini-games. Participants could create accounts and participate in the activities of the application by topping up their balances using various payment methods. However, the app stopped allowing users to withdraw their funds once their accounts accumulated substantial amounts, and the money would eventually be diverted through a backdoor to various crypto wallets.

The ED launched an investigation into the Fiewin app after local police across the country began receiving multiple reports from victims who had lost their money through the scheme. During the investigation, the Directorate found that Fiewin was linked to a cross-border criminal network that used various methods to conceal the movement of illicit funds, including money mule bank accounts and multiple crypto wallets.

The Indian agency also discovered that the project had stolen millions of Indian rupees from users and created a complex web of transactions to avoid detection and tracing of funds. With Binance’s help, the ED was able to trace the flow of laundered money through various crypto wallets and uncover the scam’s extensive network.

“Public-private partnerships are crucial to tackling complex financial crimes. Binance’s specialized investigative team is a great example of how private sector companies can work closely with law enforcement. In this case, they provided us with analytical support that contributed to the investigation,” said a representative of the ED.

Four people arrested

In addition to uncovering the scam network, the ED investigation also led to the arrest of four individuals who played a major role in facilitating the scam and worked in concert with the operators of the Fiewin app. Fraudsters were found to use privacy-focused messaging apps to communicate while working from multiple locations.

Binance said the case is still ongoing and the ED hopes to uncover the criminal network behind the fraud scheme and expose the full extent of Fiewin’s activities.

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