New Delhi: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has provisionally attached cryptocurrencies worth around ₹2,385 crore as part of its money laundering probe against the unauthorised forex trading platform OctaFX. The action was taken under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002.
According to the ED, the alleged mastermind of the scheme, Pavel Prozorov, has been arrested in Spain by local authorities. He is accused of involvement in international cybercrimes targeting multiple countries.
The investigation began after a First Information Report (FIR) was filed at Shivaji Nagar Police Station in Pune, where several individuals were accused of defrauding investors by promising high returns through the OctaFX platform.
The ED found that between July 2022 and April 2023, OctaFX allegedly duped Indian investors of about ₹1,875 crore, generating profits of nearly ₹800 crore. Over its operations from 2019 to 2024, OctaFX is believed to have earned more than ₹5,000 crore from India, much of which was illegally transferred abroad.
OctaFX operated without approval from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), offering forex, commodities, and crypto trading. Authorities likened its operations to a Ponzi scheme, where initial investors received small profits to gain trust and attract more clients.
The ED also uncovered a complex global network used to bypass regulations and launder money:
Marketing handled by firms in the British Virgin Islands
Servers and back-office hosted in Spain
Payment gateways managed from Estonia
Technical support from Georgia
A Cyprus-based holding company linked to the Indian entity
Russian promoters in Dubai overseeing Indian operations
Singapore-based entities facilitating bogus service exports
The agency alleged that OctaFX manipulated trades, using fake candlestick charts and deliberate slippage to ensure investor losses. It also ran an Introducing Brokers (IB) scheme, rewarding those who brought in more investors with commissions based on client trades.
Investor funds were collected via UPI and local bank transfers, then routed through dummy Indian firms and mule accounts to hide the money trail.
