The Enforcement Directorate has arrested WinZO founders Saumya Singh Rathore and Paavan Nanda on charges linked to money laundering. Officials said the ED team detained both individuals in Bengaluru on Wednesday after questioning them at the zonal office. Later that night, officers produced the two founders before a local court in the city. The court sent them to one-day custody and asked for a detailed order during the next hearing.
The ED launched this action as part of an ongoing investigation into financial irregularities involving online real-money gaming platforms.
STORY | ED arrests gaming platform WinZO’s founder duo on money laundering charges
The Enforcement Directorate has arrested online money gaming platform WinZO founders – Saumya Singh Rathore and Paavan Nanda – on money laundering charges, officials said Thursday.
They were… pic.twitter.com/mej3Q2Twc6
— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) November 27, 2025
ED Accuses WinZO of Holding Rs 43 Crore of Gamers’ Funds
The Enforcement Directorate said WinZO held nearly Rs 43 crore belonging to players and did not refund the amount even after India banned real-money gaming. In a statement released Monday, the agency said these funds should have returned to users once real-money games were prohibited.
The ED raided WinZO and another gaming company, Gamezkraft, last week under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act. Officers seized documents and digital evidence during the raid, stating that both companies were part of a larger network operating online games involving real money.
Who Is Saumya Singh Rathore ?
Saumya Singh Rathore co-founded WinZO, a social gaming platform that provides players with monetary rewards and prizes. The platform was launched in 2018.
Rathore and Paavan Nanda, another accused in the ongoing ED case, previously worked together at Zo Rooms.
According to her LinkedIn profile, Rathore also collaborated with Times Network as a partner in the English Entertainment Cluster. She led the Compensation and Benefits division at The Times of India and held business management roles across Times Group companies. Rathore also worked with KPMG London.
She completed her Applied Clinical Psychology degree at Bangalore University in 2005 and earned a Master’s in Organizational and Consumer Psychology from the University of Manchester.
Rathore’s net worth was reported at Rs 520 crore in the Kotak Private Banking Hurun Leading Wealthy Women List 2021, making her one of the youngest new entrants on the list.
Who Is Paavan Nanda?
Paavan Nanda, 38, is an Indian entrepreneur and co-founder of WinZO, a leading real-money and social gaming platform in India. Before launching WinZO in 2018, he played a key role in developing Zostel, a chain of backpacker hostels, and its budget-hotel aggregator ZO Rooms.
He holds a Bachelor’s in Engineering from Netaji Subhas Institute of Technology (NSIT), New Delhi, and completed his MBA from the Indian Institute of Management, Calcutta (IIM-C) in 2014. The combined net worth of Paavan Nanda and Saumya Singh Rathore is reportedly around ₹962 crore.
Last week, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) conducted raids at the offices of WinZO and Gamezkraft, along with their promoters, under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). The ED alleged that WinZO engaged in illegal practices by making customers play against software algorithms without their knowledge, instead of real human opponents in real-money games.
The agency also stated that WinZO operated real-money games in countries such as Brazil, the US, and Germany, all through the same platform hosted in India.
ED Claims WinZO Used Algorithms in Real-Money Games
The ED alleged that WinZO allowed customers to participate in real-money games without informing them that they were playing against algorithms instead of human players. According to officials, the platform operated RMGs in countries like the United States, Brazil, and Germany, using the same system hosted in India.
The agency said WinZO used software to influence results, collected bets from players, and restricted or delayed withdrawals. As part of the probe, the ED also froze bonds, fixed deposits, and mutual funds worth ₹505 crore belonging to the company.
Investigators said WinZO diverted funds from India to the United States and Singapore under the pretext of overseas investments. The agency claimed that nearly USD 55 million (Rs 489.90 crore) was parked in a US-based bank account of a shell company.
According to the ED, all operational decisions for the foreign account were made from India. Officials said the company managed global operations through a single app hosted in India, further linking its offshore activity to the domestic entity. These findings form a major part of the ED’s ongoing investigation.
WinZO Responds to Allegations
WinZO issued a statement responding to the ED’s allegations, saying the company operates with complete fairness and transparency. A spokesperson said WinZO always focuses on providing a secure and trustworthy experience to users. The company stated that it continues to follow all laws and compliance requirements. WinZO also said it remains committed to user safety and operational integrity.
The ED, however, maintains that its investigation will continue until officials verify all fund movements, refund policies, and the platform’s use of algorithms in real-money gaming services.
Swastika Sruti is a Senior Sub Editor at NewsX Digital with 5 years of experience shaping stories that matter. She loves tracking politics- national and global trends, and never misses a chance to dig deeper into policies and developments. Passionate about what’s happening around us, she brings sharp insight and clarity to every piece she works on. When not curating news, she’s busy exploring what’s next in the world of public interest. You can reach her at [swastika.newsx@gmail.com]
