The Enforcement Directorate provisionally attached properties worth Rs 1.06 crore in the Global Media App ponzi scheme case under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act. The Shillong Sub-Zonal Office carried out the attachment after tracing proceeds from an alleged investment fraud that the agency said generated more than Rs 45 crore.
The action freezes assets while investigators continue the money trail. The ED said the case began from an FIR registered by Madanriting Police Station in Meghalaya's East Khasi Hills district.
Global Media App Scheme
The agency described the app as a ponzi-style investment scheme disguised as an online advertising platform. It said users were promised daily passive income for watching advertisement videos and were pushed into VIP membership plans with assurances of high daily returns and referral commissions.
The ED said the scheme remained operational from June 3, 2022, to October 12, 2022, after which the perpetrators abruptly shut down the application and absconded with the collected funds. That left the main recovery question in the seized money trail: which accounts still hold proceeds of crime and which have already been moved.
Money Trail And Crypto Transfers
Investigators said funds came in through bank transfers, UPI transactions and cryptocurrency wallets. The ED also said multiple bank accounts, merchant IDs, payment gateway accounts and crypto wallets were used for collection and layering of the proceeds of crime.
The agency said around Rs 2.45 crore was collected directly from victims in USDT tokens through the TRON blockchain and later routed to accounts on a foreign cryptocurrency exchange. It said analysis of financial transactions and blockchain transfers helped investigators identify proceeds of crime currently available in various bank accounts.
Cambodia And Malaysia Links
The ED said the Telegram channel used to promote the application was administered by four individuals whose mobile numbers were registered in Cambodia and Malaysia. It also said the gmail accounts used to operate the app backend carried the registration note, "Terms of service country: Cambodia".
For people tracking the case, the immediate effect is narrow but concrete: the ED has already locked Rs 1.06 crore in assets, and the larger Rs 45 crore-plus trail remains under investigation through bank records, payment systems and blockchain transfers.
