OctaFX Back in News: ED Attaches Assets Worth INR 134 Cr in Forex Scam Case

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) in Mumbai has attached assets worth around INR 134 crore. This included a luxury yacht and residential properties in Spain related to the existing investigation against OctaFX, an unauthorized forex trading platform. The ED has taken this move under the provisions associated with the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002. The assets seized are of Pavel Prozorov, the mastermind behind OctaFXs alleged forex trading scam. The assets include a luxury yacht named after an Italian model in the Western Mediterranean, Cherry, along with a luxury car, a minijet boat, and two Spain-based residential properties.

Complaints Raised Against OctaFX Platform

FIRs registered against OctafX at Shivaji Nagar Police Station in Pune accused the platform of defrauding investors with the lure of high-return promises. The ED investigation claims that OctaFX, which was conducting itself as an unauthorized forex broker in India, was promoted through IPL, celebrities and social media platforms. OctaFX created mule accounts in the pretext of fake e-commerce firms and collected funds from investors through them. Using manipulated KYCs and dummy directors, these shell companies gained access to payment gateways by mimicking legitimate merchants. OctaFX is alleged to have routed these funds through unauthorized escrow accounts and payment aggregators to hide the funds sourcing and ownership.

More About OctaFXs Forex Investment Scam

The investigation revealed that OctaFX manipulated trading results to make investors believe they incurred losses. However, the funds collected were diverted to bank accounts and e-wallets of fictitious entities. To hide its operations from investors, the platform constantly changed its login portals and URLs. Further, the investigation revealed that OctaFX procured investments worth INR 800 crore from India within nine months only. These funds were moving out of India under the name of importing services to Prozorov-controlled entities in countries, including the UK, the UAE, Singapore, Hong Kong, Russia, Estonia and Spain.

Until now, the ED has attached assets worth above INR 296 crore. These include 19 properties in Spain. OctaFX and 54 other accused individuals also face two prosecution complaints, which have been taken cognizance of by the Special Court (PMLA).

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