The Enforcement Directorate (ED) conducted several search operations in Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata and Delhi in April. It is in connection with a money laundering case involving alleged illegal online forex trading via a multinational firm—the OctaFx Trading App and website www.octafx.com.
Reportedly, ED has frozen Rs 2.7 crore in bank funds, and many illegal documents, and digital devices. Now, actors Krystle Dsouza and Karan Wahi have been summoned by ED, and they are recording their statements in connection with the Octa FX money laundering case.
Earlier, the ED had also summoned actress Nia Sharma, who is also alleged to have promoted the app.
The ED investigation has discovered the trading app and its website collaboration with OctaFX India Pvt. Ltd. The application is highly promoted on social media, and influencers are provided with referral-based incentive structures so that they can reach out to users to trade on its platform.
Several bank accounts from India have invested money in the OctaFx trading app. According to ED, funds were accumulated after defrauding investors. These illegally accrued funds were transferred to bank accounts in dummy entities.
Many illegal amounts that were invested by users in the app, were defrauded by agents on the OctaFx app. The trading application also manipulated activities related to trade, which caused net loss to investors. To attract the investors to trade, and be on the app, there are huge fraudulent advertisements that are placed on the internet.
OctaFX has also engaged numerous Indians who work in Spain and Russia to operate the OctaFX trading platform and encourage Indian residents to invest in forex trading with OctaFX.
