The Enforcement Directorate in India has taken decisive action against the OctaFX trading platform, seizing cryptocurrency assets valued at approximately US $286 million. The probe targets a large‑scale Ponzi‑style scheme run by OctaFX that allegedly duped Indian investors of around US $225 million between July 2022 and April 2023.
The agency also arrested Pavel Prozorov, who is believed to be the mastermind behind the network, in Spain. Investigators uncovered how OctaFX operated a global network to evade regulators: entities in the British Virgin Islands handled marketing, Spain‑based entities hosted back‑office operations, Estonia managed payment gateways, Georgia provided technical support, and funds were routed through various jurisdictions including the UAE, Singapore and Russia.
The scheme solicited funds via UPI and Indian bank transfers, channelled them through dummy entities and mule accounts, and then disguised the origins by pretending to export software or research services. A portion of these funds was even re‑introduced into India as foreign‑direct investment.
This case marks a major enforcement milestone in India’s crackdown on unauthorised crypto and forex‑trading platforms.
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#OctaFX
#crypto scam
#Enforcement Directorate
#Pavel Prozorov
#cryptocurrencyseizure
#PonziScheme
#Indian investors
#crypto regulation
#financialfraud
