ED Conducts Multi-City Searches Linked To Sontu Jain, Rajesh Rajdev; Seizes ₹30 Lakh Cash, Freezes Assets Worth Crores

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) conducted simultaneous searches at 12 locations in Nagpur, Gondia, and Ahmedabad on Tuesday as part of an ongoing investigation into alleged online gaming and betting fraud. The investigation targets key suspects Anant Navratran Jain, also known as Sontu Jain, and his associate Rajesh Rajdev. The ED, acting under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), seized a total of ₹30.30 lakh in cash and froze over 100 bank accounts, mutual funds, and shares valued at approximately ₹5 crore.

The agency also seized two bank lockers, three luxury vehicles worth around ₹1.70 crore, 11 mobile phones, and a laptop containing suspected digital evidence. The investigation was initiated based on an FIR filed by the Nagpur City Cyber Crime Police Station under IPC and IT Act provisions. The ED alleges that Jain misled a complainant with promises of high returns in a short time, directing them to betting platforms like Diamondexch, Indianexch, Lotusbook, and World777.

The platform allegedly manipulated games to prevent users from winning, leading to a fraud of around ₹58.42 crore. Funds were traced through a network of bank accounts and cash channels, with mule accounts used to receive and layer the proceeds.