ED attaches Rs 442 Cr assets in RummyCulture case; total value reaches Rs 2,843 Cr

The Enforcement Directorate has provisionally attached movable and immovable assets worth Rs 442 crore in its money-laundering investigation involving Gameskraft Technologies and its online gaming platform RummyCulture. The Bengaluru Zonal Office issued the provisional attachment order on September 25 under Section 5(1) of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002. With this action, the total value of assets attached, frozen and seized in the case has reached around Rs 2,843 crore, according to the agency.

The attached assets include balances in fixed deposits, commercial shops, a villa and multiple residential properties. According to the ED, these assets are held in the names of family members, private family trusts and entities associated with shareholders of Gameskraft Technologies. The attachment is provisional, meaning it is part of the agency’s ongoing money-laundering proceedings.

The ED said the investigation began on the basis of multiple FIRs registered in Telangana for alleged cheating offences under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023. Gameskraft Technologies and associate entity RummyTime Technologies operated online real-money games, particularly rummy games and tournaments, through apps including RummyCulture, RummyPrime, Playship and RummyTime. According to the ED, these platforms had a user base of around 3 crore across India.

The agency alleged that a significant number of users were from Telangana, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu, where online real-money gaming had been banned. It further alleged that the companies charged platform commissions of 10% to 15% on users’ staking or wagering amounts and deployed automated programmes, or bots, against users without their knowledge or consent. According to the ED, the alleged use of bots led to financial losses for users while generating proceeds of crime, which were later layered through dividend payments, share buybacks, financial instruments and properties.