Indian authorities are shining a bright light on a sprawling web of global financial scams. One company, the online trading platform OctaFX, now sits at the center of a major investigation. Regulators believe this platform illegally moved over $96 million in just nine months.
The Enforcement Directorate, known as the ED, claims OctaFX used a complex network across continents. This setup helped turn dirty money into digital assets. They then used international payment systems to hide where the money came from, according to Cryptopolitan. This makes it very hard for investigators to track the funds.
A Business Spread Across the Globe
Officials say the main people behind OctaFX live in Russia. Their technical support comes from Georgia. The company runs its India operations from Dubai, and its network servers are in Barcelona. This international spread allowed them to quietly manage large sums of money. Local rules could not reach these funds.
In one specific instance, the ED found about $20.6 million in linked assets. These included a yacht, a villa in Spain, money in bank accounts, 39,000 USDT, land, and shares in investment accounts.
The ED report shows how some of this money was hidden. They used fake import invoices, pretending to buy things from Singapore. This trick allowed OctaFX to explain huge transfers and move money out of India. The agency noted these deals looked like payments for server rentals or storage services under made-up contracts. Other transfers used false billing for imports that never happened.
More Than Just One Company
OctaFX is not the only platform under scrutiny. ED offices in different regions have found similar schemes. In Bengaluru, they are looking into Power Bank. In Kolkata, Angel One, TM Traders, and Vivan Li are under investigation. Zara FX in Kochi also faces claims. All these cases involve digital investment scams and money laundering.
The agency also found that cyber frauds, often using the name of cryptocurrencies, helped companies like Birfa IT. These firms acted as middlemen. They would convert large amounts of money into crypto assets. Then, these assets were sent to China through under-invoicing imports.
In one case, Birfa IT and its partner firms sent big sums to companies in Hong Kong and Canada. They did this using fake paperwork.
The ED’s data points to a sharp rise in money lost by Indians to financial fraud. In 2024 alone, losses from crypto scams jumped 206% compared to 2023. Also, the number of cases the agency investigated grew by 50% year over year. This shows how big the problem is and how criminal networks are getting smarter.
International Gangs and Crypto Use
Authorities also uncovered schemes run from Laos, Hong Kong, and Thailand. These places hosted shell companies with fake documents. These groups hired Indian citizens to commit crimes. These included fake stock offerings, phony stock investments, and even “digital arrests” to extort victims.
Money from these crimes went through made-up companies. It was then turned into digital assets. After that, it was sent abroad as fake import payments. Some of these deals used official international payment systems. Others went through informal networks like Hawala.
In some situations, investigators even found that some money returned to India. It was disguised as real investments in the financial markets. This made it even harder to track the funds.