WinZO Co-Founder Soumya Rathore Gets Bail in ED Money-Laundering Probe, Paavan Nanda Denied Relief

A Bengaluru sessions court on Tuesday granted bail to Soumya Rathore, co-founder of online gaming platform WinZO, while denying bail to her fellow co-founder Paavan Nanda in a money-laundering case being investigated by the Enforcement Directorate. Both founders were arrested on November 26 in connection with alleged violations of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act.

In a joint order, Principal City Civil and Sessions Judge M. Chandrashekar Reddy allowed Rathore’s release by invoking the proviso to Section 45 of the PMLA, which provides special bail safeguards for women. The court noted that Rathore had already been subjected to extensive custodial interrogation and that her continued detention was not required at this stage of the investigation.

Nanda’s bail plea, however, was rejected. The court observed that the scope of the probe had expanded and that further custodial interrogation of Nanda was necessary as the investigation progresses. The judge permitted the ED to retain Nanda in custody for a limited period to continue questioning.

ED Allegations

The Enforcement Directorate alleges that WinZO and its promoters generated unlawful gains of about ₹177 crore and diverted funds to overseas entities. Investigators claim the platform used deceptive algorithms to tilt game outcomes against players, creating significant proceeds of crime that were then laundered through multiple channels.

As part of the probe, the agency has conducted searches at premises linked to the company and its promoters, initiated steps to attach and freeze assets, and identified funds allegedly parked in U.S. bank accounts held in the name of a shell entity, which investigators have estimated at around $55 million.

According to the ED’s case records, WinZO continued to operate real-money games for overseas users using the same platform as its Indian operations. The agency has also alleged that the company restricted or prevented customer withdrawals and retained customer balances. These claims include an allegation that roughly ₹43 crore remained with the company even after the Union government’s ban on real-money gaming came into effect on August 22, 2025.

Who are the Accused?

Paavan Nanda, 38, is an entrepreneur who co-founded WinZO in 2018 and earlier helped build hospitality ventures such as Zostel and ZO Rooms. He holds an engineering degree from NSIT and an MBA from IIM Calcutta. Soumya, reported in some filings as Saumya Singh Rathore, is also a co-founder of WinZO and has an academic background in psychology, including a master’s degree from the University of Manchester.

The Enforcement Directorate registered the PMLA case in early November after taking cognisance of a Gurugram police cyber-crime FIR filed by a player who alleged he had lost nearly ₹42 lakh on the platform. The investigation remains active, with the agency expected to file further submissions before the PMLA court and pursue additional investigative steps as the matter moves through the criminal justice process.