ED holds searches in many cities in illegal forex trading probe
The Enforcement Directorate (ED), Mumbai Zonal Oce, conducted searches under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002, at various locations in Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata, and Delhi on April 18.
The operations were carried out as part of an ongoing probe in the case of illegal online forex trading through the OctaFx trading platform, the ED said on Saturday.
During the course of the searches, bank funds of ₹2.7 crore have been frozen and various incriminating documents and digital devices have been found and seized.
“The ED initiated investigation on the basis of a First Information Report registered by Shivaji Nagar Police Station, Pune, against several persons for their involvement in showing false temptations of high returns and duping persons in guise of forex trading through the OctaFx
The OctaFx app and its website have not been authorised by the RBI to deal in forex trading
trading platform,” the ED ocial said.
The investigation revealed that the OctaFx online trading app and website are operating in India in association with India based entity M/s OctaFx India Private Limited. The OctaFx app and its website have not been authorised by the Reserve Bank of India to deal in forex trading.
The ED ocials said that this forex trading platform is widely promoted on social networking sites and is following referral-based incentive models for acquiring users to their platforms. “It has emerged in the investigation that multiple accounts of di erent Indian banks were being shown to investors and users on OctaFx trading app/ www.octafx.com for collecting funds in the guise of facilitating forex trading.”