Chinese loan apps case: ED raids Razorpay, Paytm, Cashfree in Bengaluru

The Enforcement Directorate Saturday said it is conducting raids at Bengaluru premises of online payment gateways like Razorpay, Paytm and Cashfree as part of an ongoing probe against "illegal" instant smartphone-based loans "controlled" by Chinese persons.

The searches were launched Friday at six premises in Karnataka's capital city, it said in a statement.

The search operation is in progress, the Enforcement Directorate said.

The federal probe agency said it has seized Rs 17 crore worth funds kept in "merchant IDs and bank accounts of these Chinese persons-controlled entities", during the raids.

The modus operandi of these entities is that they use forged documents of Indians and make them dummy directors leading to generation of "proceeds of crime", it alleged.

"These entities are controlled/operated by Chinese persons," it said.

"It has come to notice that the said entities were doing their suspected/illegal business through various merchant IDs/accounts held with payment ...