ED questions TV actors in fraud forex trading app case

The Enforcement Directorate ED on Wednesday recorded the statement of two TV actors in Mumbai as part of a money laundering investigation linked to the operations of an illegal online forex trading platform the official sources said reported the PTIThe alleged fraud is suspected to have duped investors to the tune of Rs 500 crore they saidThe sources said the actors Krystel Dsouza and Karan Wahi were called for questioning in order to elicit information about some payments being made for promotions of the app named OctaFx which also had a website wwwoctafxcom as per the PTIThe statements of the two actors have been recorded as the ED is investigating the case under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act PMLA they saidAnother TV actor and model Nia Sharma has also been summoned the sources said according to the PTIIt is understood that the agency wants to understand the operations of the platform and these actors may not be seen as wrongdoers or accusedThe money laundering case of the ED stems from a Pune Police Shivaji Nagar police station FIR filed against the app and its promoters who are alleged to have duped numerous investors by luring them with high returnsThe federal agency had earlier said that the app OCTAFX and its website were not authorised by RBI to deal in forex tradingIt had said that the platform was widely promoted on social networking sites and is following referralbased incentive models for acquiring usersIt has emerged in the investigation that multiple accounts of different Indian banks were being shown to investorsusers on OctaFx trading appwwwoctafxcom for collecting funds in the guise of facilitating forex trading It was found that OctaFx has manipulated trade activities and information shown on its platform ultimately resulting in net loss to the traders the ED alleged in a statement after it conducted raids against the company and its promoters in April in Mumbai Chennai Kolkata and Delhi the PTI reportedThese accumulated funds after defrauding these investorsusers were transferred to multiple ewallet accounts or to bank accounts of dummy entities it claimedThis way OctaFx India Pvt Ltd OctaFx and their entities have cheated investors in the guise of forex trading thereby earning a profit of more than Rs 500 crore from the Indian region the ED saidA portion of these funds as per the agency were layered through a web of complex transactions with the help of shell entities and remitted abroad to its related entities in the garb of bogus freight services import of services etcThe ED had claimed that a network of chartered accountants and professionals who gave fake certificates of remittances and facilitated bank accountscompanies for layering of such funds was involved in running this platformThe entire process of reflecting account numbers of dummy entities managing the funds collected in these accounts and diversion of the same were being managed and operated by owners of OctaFx group entities based in Spain Russia Georgia and Dubai the agency saidIt said OctaFx hired several Indian individuals working in SpainRussia for operating the trading platformIt has attached crypto currencies bank deposits and gold coins worth Rs 35 crore in the case till nowwith PTI inputs