ED has frozen several accounts of payment gateway apps such as Razorpay, Easebuss, and Cashfree, while probing the Chinese loan apps scam.
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) is currently probing the Chinese loan apps scam and has extended its probe to several widely used payment gateway platforms such as Paytm, Razorpay, Easubuss, and Cashfree, launching raids in its offices.
The central agency has now said that it has frozen Rs 46.67 crore funds of merchant entities kept in four online payment gateway accounts of Easebuzz, Razorpay, Cashfree, and Paytm after it carried out raids this week against a "Chinese-controlled" investment token app.
The funds have been frozen by ED under the anti-money laundering law, just days after it had raided the Bengaluru offices of Razorpay, Paytm and Cashfree over alleged irregularities in the operations of instant app-based loan-giving companies "controlled" by Chinese persons and later similar seizure order for Rs 17 crore funds kept in their accounts was issued.
The probe into the Chinese loan app scam began when several cases of suicide came forward from across the country, where the people were not able to pay back the loans and were being constantly pestered by the companies, with their personal information being used against them.
The ED case, filed under criminal sections of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), stems from an October 2021 FIR filed against the accused company and its linked persons by the cybercrime unit of the Kohima Police in Nagaland.
After the freezing of the accounts with crores of rupees, Paytm has come forward with the statement that none of the funds belong to the company.
In its official statement regarding the ED probe, Paytm tweeted, “... As mentioned in our exchange filing, ED instructed us to freeze a certain amount from MIDs of specific merchant entities and none of these funds belong to Paytm or our group companies.”
The premises of Razorpay, Cashfree Payments, Paytm Payment Services, and entities "controlled" by Chinese persons came under the radar of the Enforcement Directorate earlier this month. Meanwhile, Paytm has tried to maintain its distance from the allegations, saying that it will extend its full cooperation to the central agency for investigation.
(With PTI, ANI inputs)
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 "Chinese loan apps scam: ED freezes over Rs 46 crore funds kept in Razorpay, Easebuzz, Cashfree accounts")
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