New Delhi, Feb 15 (PTI) The Enforcement Directorate on Wednesday said it has frozen Rs 29.5 crore kept in bank and demat accounts after it carried out raids in multiple cities in a money laundering case linked to cheating of investors through a mobile phone-based application.

The action was undertaken against an app-based token named "HPZ" and some similar entities. Searches were conducted in Delhi, Gurugram, Mumbai, Bengaluru and Salem, the agency said.

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The Enforcement Directorate (ED) had carried out searches in the case last year too and had frozen deposits worth around Rs 56 crore.

Funds of Rs 29.5 crore have been frozen under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) as the same was detected and found to be lying in various bank accounts or demat accounts, the agency said in a statement.

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The money laundering case stems from an October 2021 FIR filed against the company and its linked persons by the cyber-crime unit of the Kohima Police in Nagaland.

"HPZ was an app-based token which promised users of high returns against 'investment' in mining machines for Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies," the agency said.

It said two entities -- Lillian Technocab Private Limited and Shigoo Technology Private Limited -- were involved in the operation and collection of money from investors in the name of "HPZ" token.

The ED said a person identified as Bhupesh Arora along with some others "had control over Shigoo Technology Private Limited and he was indulged in operating unregistered gaming apps/website in this company and various other entities".

"He was collecting money fraudulently from the gullible public in the garb of these apps/website," it said.

Searches were also conducted, the ED said, on an entity based in Chennai and related persons involved in laundering the proceeds of crime in crypto assets.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)