ED cracks down on opinion trading platform Probo, freezes ₹284.5 crore

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) freezes ₹284.5 crore worth of assets in its crackdown on Probo, an opinion trading platform. The company assures co-operation with ongoing law enforcement inquiries

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) this week conducted search operations at four premises linked to the opinion trading platform Probo in Gurugram and Jind, Haryana, and froze assets worth ₹284.5 crore.

 

The ED cracked down on the company and its promoters, Sachin Subhaschandra Gupta and Ashish Garg, under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) ‘in connection with the company’s illegal gambling/betting activities across India.’

 

The ED added that the platform lacked safeguards to prevent minors from registering as users, did not follow Know Your Customer (KYC) due diligence, and was found to be inducing new users through misleading advertisements while promoting opinion trading linked to election results.

 

“Investigations also revealed that the company had received ₹134.84 crore against the issue of preference shares from foreign entities based out of Mauritius, the Cayman Islands, and other locations. The search resulted in the seizure of incriminating documents and digital data,” the ED said in a statement, adding that further investigation was underway.

 

The ED has frozen ₹284.5 crore worth of investments in fixed deposits and shares, along with three bank lockers.

 

Probo said it was cooperating with law enforcement authorities. 

 

“In light of recent developments, we would like to assure all stakeholders and the public that Probo is cooperating with law enforcement authorities in the ongoing inquiries,” a company spokesperson said in a statement.

 

The spokesperson added that the company adheres to ‘all applicable laws and regulations and maintains the highest standards of compliance.’

 

“User safety and trust remain our top priorities. We sincerely appreciate the continued support of our community and will provide updates as appropriate,” the statement said.

 

Probo claims to be a skill-based opinion trading platform with over 42 million users. It allows users to trade on topics such as sports, current affairs, economics, entertainment, and more.

 

Opinion trading platforms allow users to cash in on binary outcomes of real-world incidents. Users can buy or sell event-based prediction contracts, where they stake monetary value on a future outcome.

 

The ED said it initiated an investigation based on multiple FIRs registered under various sections of BNS, 2023, and the Public Gambling Act, 1867.

 

“The complainants in the FIRs had alleged that they were cheated and dishonestly presented with a scheme of earning money through simple 'yes or no' questions, while the scheme, in reality, promotes gambling by luring players to invest more in the hope of earning higher returns,” it added.

 

The agency explained that, based on its analysis of the game, the presence of only two possible outcomes made it indistinguishable from gambling or betting, leading to the loss of users' hard-earned money.