The Enforcement Directorate (ED) Guwahati questioned actress Tamannaah Bhatia for over two hours on Thursday as part of its investigation into the infamous ‘HPZ Token’ mobile app scam. Official sources indicate that the probe focuses on a money laundering case linked to the app, in which numerous investors were reportedly defrauded under the guise of mining Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies.
According to sources, she was called earlier too but she deferred the summons due to work and chose to appear on Thursday.
The ED confirmed that the 34-year-old actor’s statement was recorded under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) at Guwahati zonal office. According to sources, Bhatia is not an accused in the case, she appeared in an event of HPZ Token, for which she was paid an appearance fee.
The sources said the ED is seeking the details of the source of the funds that the actress received as an appearance fee, including the identity of the person who contacted her for the event and the payment method used. Investigations are scrutinising the originating account of these funds amid concerns that they may be connected to shell companies and could potentially stem from illegal betting operations.
The ED initiated its investigation based on an FIR filed by the cyber crime police station in Kohima, Nagaland. The FIR accuses the perpetrators of duping investors under the pretext of lucrative returns on investments in Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, facilitated through the HPZ Token app. The federal agency stated, “The modus operandi of the fraudsters was to first lure the victims to invest in the company in the pretext of doubling their investment through the app HPZ Token and also through online gaming and betting websites.”
To attract investments, multiple bank accounts and merchant IDs were established under the names of several shell entities, managed by dummy directors solely for the rotation and layering of proceeds from crime. These funds were fraudulently obtained for investment in cryptocurrency mining and illegal online gaming and betting platforms. Promises were made of returns amounting to Rs4,000 per day for three months on an initial investment of Rs57,000. Initial returns were disbursed to build investor confidence, which led to further investments. However, these funds were ultimately siphoned off. The scam reportedly commenced in June 2021, and by mid-August 2021, the app and its associated websites became inaccessible.
The ED has previously conducted extensive searches across 44 locations nationwide, freezing assets amounting to Rs176.67 crore held by shell entities. The agency has since attached assets worth Rs278.70 crore, bringing the total amount frozen and attached in this case to Rs497.20 crore, the ED had said in a statement in August.
