ED flags ₹550-crore money laundering trail linked to illegal betting, stock manipulation in Ahmedabad

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has written to Ahmedabad Police Commissioner seeking registration of an FIR against six persons for allegedly operating a network of shell firms and bank accounts to launder proceeds of crime generated from illegal online betting and to manipulate penny stocks.

In a communication dated November 27, issued under section of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002, the ED said searches conducted in connection with the alleged 1xBet illegal betting racket unearthed evidence of fraud, forgery, cheating and identity theft punishable under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and the Information Technology Act.

According to the ED, three bank accounts — opened in 2024 in the names of proprietorship concerns Pradip Enterprises, Kamlesh Trading and Ronak Traders — recorded combined credit and debit transactions of approximately ₹550 crore within a short span. Investigators allege that the accounts were used for layering and laundering betting proceeds, circular trading in listed companies to artificially inflate share prices, and even for personal expenses of third parties.

One of the account holders, Pradipbhai Oad, a Rapido bike rider earning around ₹10,000–12,000 per month, allegedly allowed his identity documents to be used in exchange for ₹25,000 per account and was paid ₹400 per cheque leaf signed at the behest of the network’s operators. In his statement recorded under section of the PMLA, Oad claimed he neither operated the accounts nor engaged in any business activity and that all control rested with Kiran Parmar alias 'Lala'.

The ED alleged that Parmar and his associates identified as Mahadev, Jugal, Ravi and Jeevraj opened multiple bank accounts and a proprietorship firm in Oad’s name, retained cheque books and SIM cards linked to the accounts, and managed offices using forged KYC documents, fabricated addresses and incorrect bank details in Udyam registrations.

Investigators further found that the same Equitas Small Finance Bank account number — allegedly belonging to one Shaikh Moin Mohammad Shafi — was declared across multiple Udyam registrations, indicating submission of false statutory information.

Analysis of bank statements revealed substantial payments to certain listed companies, many of which were under surveillance by the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) for abnormal price movements.

Among the top entities were:

* Murae Organiser Limited: Transactions amounting to ₹80.55 crore were flagged. The stock, which reportedly touched an all-time high of ₹10.90, is currently trading at under ₹1. The ED noted a sharp spike in turnover in FY2024-25 compared with the previous year.

* Pradhin Limited: With flagged transactions of ₹52.11 crore, the company also recorded a steep rise in revenue and receivables. Its share price has fallen significantly from previous highs.

* KKRRAFTON Developers Ltd (now renamed Bharat Global Developers): Transactions of ₹22.86 crore were identified. SEBI had suspended trading in the company’s shares in December 2024 following an extraordinary surge of nearly 10,000 per cent over 12 months and later issued confirmatory orders citing false and misleading disclosures.

The ED suspects that accommodation entries routed through the three Ahmedabad-based entities artificially boosted turnover and trading volumes in these companies to rig share prices.

The agency noted that the accounts are already under debit freeze in connection with multiple FIRs, including cases registered by the Cyber Cell in Navi Mumbai, the CID Crime Branch in Gandhinagar, and police in Bengaluru.

On the basis of its findings, the ED has urged the city police to register offences under relevant provisions of the BNS, including sections pertaining to forgery of valuable security, cheating, criminal conspiracy, impersonation and use of forged documents, along with applicable provisions of the IT Act.

Regarding the matter a case has been lodged with the Detection of Crime branch and the certified copies of documents, bank statements and digital evidence would be provided to assist the investigation.