Hyderabad: Financial Intelligence Unit-India (FIU-IND) has joined hands with Directorate General of GST Intelligence (DGGI), Hyderabad, to trace the final beneficiaries of an online betting syndicate that investigators say routed about 23,000 crore through 177 shell companies and dummy merchant entities identified so far.The probe has, for the first time, brought into focus the role of payment aggregators, payment gateways and banks in the functioning of an international gaming network, with investigators saying these entities facilitated transactions because of the high volumes involved and earned about 1% as platform facilitation fee. The investigation has also flagged that when enforcement agencies freeze the bank accounts of shell companies, large sums often remain parked with banks for long periods as no claimant comes forward.Shell Firms & Money TrailSources said FIU-India, the central agency responsible for receiving, processing, analysing and disseminating information relating to suspect financial transactions to enforcement agencies, was collaborating with DGGI Hyderabad to identify the final beneficiaries of the online gaming syndicate.The probe has centred on entities presented as legitimate merchant firms or resellers, but found, during physical verification, to be dummy and non-functional. Investigators said these firms were part of an organised syndicate linked to illegal online real-money gaming platforms and were used to route large volumes of funds while concealing the nature of transactions.Two entities specifically verified on the ground — Oceanique Web Solutions Private Limited and Webwin IT Hub Solutions Private Limited — were found to be dummy and non-functional, investigators alleged. These entities were linked to gaming websites and apps, including funinmatch360.com and Racejeet.Aggregators, Gateways & Banks Under ScannerDGGI said the investigation has for the first time brought out the specific role of payment aggregators, payment gateways and banks in the smooth functioning of the international gaming syndicate. Investigators alleged that these entities facilitated online gaming transactions because of the high volume and turnover involved, earning about 1% as platform facilitation fee.DGGI had earlier alleged a systemic failure of due diligence, saying the onboarding drive was pushed to increase turnover and fee-based income without mandatory inspections, audits or risk monitoring, despite contractual powers to carry out such checks.Three entities — PS Rao Digital Solutions (OPC) Private Limited, Billexpress Solutions Private Limited and Powerfin Technology Private Limited — were identified as dummy programme managers or resellers. DGGI alleged that these programme managers were used to onboard around 36 shell entities through a payment bank acting as a payment aggregator.Masking Taxable TransactionsDGGI has shared with the bank a list of eight suspected reseller or programme manager entities and sought further information. Investigators alleged that the shell firms were created under the guise of legitimate merchant entities or resellers, but physical verification of their registered premises showed they were non-functional and existed only to facilitate illegal activities.“These entities were part of an organised syndicate linked to illegal online real-money gaming platforms and were used to route massive volumes of funds while suppressing taxable transactions. The firms allegedly facilitated masked operations where online gaming services were provided without issuing tax invoices, allowing the syndicate to suppress turnover and avoid declaring taxable supplies in GST returns,” DGGI alleged.
