India's Enforcement Directorate (ED) asked crypto exchange Binance to freeze 150.22 bitcoins, today valued at about USD 2.5 million, as part of a money laundering investigation relating to a gaming app called E-Nuggets, according to a press release on November 11.

According to sources, the total value of frozen or seized assets in the case now amounts to USD 8.4 million.

The investigation relates to a February 2021 complaint filed by regulators in India's eastern city of Kolkata against Aamir Khan, the app's creator, and others. The agency alleges that Khan and others launched E-Nuggets to collect money from the public in return for rewards on commissions, but later wiped out all data. Khan's contact information has not been known since the investigation began.

The ED said that "multiple accounts (more than 300) were used to launder the money" and that Khan transferred some of the money overseas through a cryptocurrency exchange. As many as 77.6 bitcoins, worth roughly USD 1.5 million at the time, were frozen in that Binance account earlier in 2022.

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