ED attaches overseas assets worth Rs 37.50-cr of now Dubai-based VIPS Group owner Vinod Khute

New Delhi: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has attached overseas assets worth Rs 37.50 crore of Vinod Khute, owner of VIPS Group of Companies and Global Affiliate Business Company based in Pune, in a money laundering case, the agency said on Wednesday.

The attached assets are in the form of immovable properties consisting of various flats worth Rs 37.50 crore located in Dubai and belonging to Vinod Khute.

The properties were attached under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) of 2002.

ED had initiated an investigation on the basis of a First Information Report (FIR) registered by Bharti Vidyapeeth Police Station, Pune, under various sections of the Indian Penal Code, 1860, against Vinod Tukaram Khute, Santosh Khute, Mangesh Khute, Kiran Pitamber Anarase,

Ajinkya Badadhe and other unknown persons for cheating common people and hatching a criminal conspiracy to lure common people into Ponzi schemes and forex trading on the pretext of high returns and by doing so collected more than Rs 100 crore in the bank accounts of several bogus, sham firms, entities or companies.

An ED investigation revealed that Vinod Khute, who is presently residing in Dubai, is the mastermind of various illegal trades, crypto exchanges, wallet services, and forex trading through Dubai-based firm Kana Capital Limited.

He established multiple companies, including VIPSWALLET Pvt. Ltd., VIPSTRADE Finance Private Limited, Kana Capitals Limited, Global Affiliate Business (GAB), VIPS Securities, and VIPS Properties, among others, to carry out illicit financial activities.

"Further, funds were collected from investors and routed through shell companies and dummy accounts to conceal the illicit nature of the transactions. Thereafter, funds were transferred out of India to Dubai through hawala operators, in exchange for cryptocurrency such as USDT, to evade regulatory scrutiny and facilitate money laundering," said the ED.

"The proceeds of crime of more than Rs 100 crore quantified as per the investigation conducted so far have been utilized by Vinod Khute for his personal use, running the day-to-day affairs of his companies, acquiring properties in Dubai as well as in India, etc."

Earlier, the agency said, it had carried out searches on various locations based in Pune, Ahmedabad, and Mumbai related to Vinod Khute and frozen a sum of Rs 23 crore in the form of bank balances and cash under the provisions of FEMA, 1999.