In accordance with the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002, the Directorate of Enforcement (ED), Mumbai Zonal Office has issued a Provisional Attachment Order, attaching movable assets valued at Rs. 24.41 Crore belonging to various people, entities, and businesses that Vinod Khute, the owner of the VIPS Group of Companies and M/s Global Affiliate Business company, based in Pune, uses to layer proceeds of crime. The assets that are attached consist of deposits totalling Rs. 3.14 crore and balances in 58 bank accounts totalling Rs. 21.27 crore.
Under various sections of the Indian Penal Code, 1860, the Bharti Vidyapeeth Police Station in Pune filed a formal complaint (FIR) against Vinod Tukaram Khute, Santosh Khute, Mangesh Khute, Kiran Pitamber Anarase, Ajinkya Badadhe, and unknown others for defrauding the public and organizing a criminal conspiracy to entice the public into Ponzi schemes and forex trading under the guise of large returns. This led to the collection of more than Rs. 100 Crore from several bogus/sham firms, entities, and companies.
According to an ED investigation, Vinod Khute, who is a fugitive and may be living in Dubai at the moment, is the brains behind a number of illicit activities, including cryptocurrency exchange, wallet services, and FX trading through the Dubai-based company M/s Kana Capital Limited. According to the investigation, Vinod Khute founded a number of businesses to engage in illegal financial activity, including VIPS Securities, VIPS Properties, M/s Global Affiliate Business (GAB), M/s Kana Capitals Limited, M/s VIPSTRADE Finance Private Limited (M/s VTFPL), and M/s VIPSWALLET Pvt. Ltd.
To further hide the unlawful nature of the transactions, investor monies were gathered and transferred through fake accounts and shell corporations. After that, in order to avoid regulatory attention and enable money laundering, cash were transported from India to Dubai through hawala operators in exchange for cryptocurrencies like USDT. Vinod Khute has used the profits of crime—more than Rs. 100 Crore, based on the inquiry completed thus far—for his own benefit, managing the day-to-day operations of his businesses, buying homes in India and Dubai, among other things.
Prior to this, Vinod Khute, the proprietor of the VIPS Group of Companies and M/s Global Affiliate Business, possessed foreign assets in Dubai valued at Rs. 37.50 crore, which were attached by ED in accordance with the PMLA, 2002. The current total attachment in this case is Rs. 61.91 crore. Additional research is currently being conducted.
