ED attaches Rs 391 crore in QFX AI-forex-bot scheme, arrests two

What the Record Shows

The Enforcement Directorate's Chandigarh Zonal Office has attached and seized proceeds of crime and arrested two agents in its money-laundering investigation into a set of linked schemes it names as QFX, YFX, BotBro, BotAlpha, Crossalpha and Minecrypto, according to an ED press release dated 26 September 2025. Searches on 11 February 2025 and 4 July 2025 resulted in the seizure or attachment of 185 bank accounts carrying Rs 391 crore held across several shell entities.

The ED also issued a Provisional Attachment Order dated 26 August 2025 attaching 45 immovable properties worth Rs 9.49 crore, which per the ED were acquired by the accused, their family members and associates. Separately, a search at one agent's house in Shamli led to the recovery of Rs 94.23 lakh, which the ED describes as proceeds of crime.

The ED arrested Navab Hassan on 25 September 2025 under Section 19(1) of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002, and a court granted nine days' custody. It had earlier arrested another agent, Harinder Pal Singh, on 17 September 2025. Both are in ED custody and neither has been convicted. The ED names Lavish Chaudhary, also known as Nawab, as the absconding main accused, and alleges he operates the scheme from Dubai.

A provisional attachment and an arrest are investigation-stage steps, not findings of guilt. The attachment requires confirmation by the Adjudicating Authority under the PMLA, and the persons named are accused, not convicted. The investigation continues.

How It Worked

The ED says it began its investigation on the basis of multiple first information reports registered by police across Himachal Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Assam under provisions of the Indian Penal Code, 1860, which the agency reads as showing that the scheme was spread across several states. The ED describes the structure as a pyramid scheme.

Per the ED, investors were promised high monthly returns of 5 to 6 per cent from what was presented as robot or AI-bot-based forex trading. The agency alleges the money was collected through payment aggregators and later through the USDT stablecoin, and that no real forex trading ever took place. On the ED's account, investor dashboards reflected notional balances while fresh collections were used to service earlier payouts, and once money was invested the IDs were deleted and payouts halted after a few months.

The ED alleges that the proceeds were then diverted to the UAE to buy property in the names of close associates of the main accused and for luxury spending. The agency states that one arrested agent, Navab Hassan, operated at a rank it records as "Blue Diamond Executive" and had built a base of more than 10,000 investors beneath him, collecting cash and funnelling investments first through payment aggregators and later through USDT.

According to the ED, that agent stated during investigation that no real forex trading took place on the platform and that dashboards showed only notional balances. The agency records that he travelled frequently to the UAE to meet the absconding accused and joined Zoom calls with him that the ED says were used to inspire confidence in new investors. The overseas base, on the ED's account, functioned as the credibility signal for the whole structure. These are the ED's allegations, tested in the ongoing proceedings, not established findings of a court.

Who Lost Money

The people exposed are retail investors across at least the five states where the predicate FIRs were registered: Himachal Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Assam. The ED records that a single arrested agent had more than 10,000 investors under him, which implies a far larger total base across the network, though the agency has not officially quantified the number of individual investors.

It is important to state the figures precisely. The ED has quantified what it has seized and attached, not what investors lost. The Rs 391 crore across 185 bank accounts and the Rs 9.49 crore in immovable property are the proceeds of crime the agency has moved to secure; they are not a certified tally of investor losses, and the two should not be conflated. The ED describes the scheme as having mobilised hundreds of crores.

What investors ultimately recover, if anything, will depend on the confirmation of the attachments and the later stages of the process, including any trial and the disposal of the attached assets. At this stage no distribution to investors has been reported, and the money is in the custody of the process, not returned.

Where It Stands Now

As of the ED's release, this is an active PMLA investigation at the attachment-and-arrest stage. The Provisional Attachment Order of 26 August 2025 must be confirmed by the Adjudicating Authority under the PMLA before it becomes final, and an attachment can be contested and, in some cases, released. The two arrested agents are in custody pending the process, and the person the ED names as the absconding main accused, Lavish Chaudhary, had not been arrested as of the release and is alleged to be in Dubai.

No court has convicted anyone in this matter. A provisional attachment contains allegations, not findings of guilt; the accused are presumed innocent until proven guilty, and due process continues. The ED itself frames its action as advancing the investigation to trace the full trail of proceeds, identify remaining beneficiaries and fronts, and secure the money, rather than as a conclusion of the case.

Because the main accused is alleged to be abroad, any further movement may also involve extradition or mutual-legal-assistance steps, which are separate and slower processes. Readers can follow related enforcement actions through the enforcement archive.

What It Means

The pattern the ED describes is a familiar one, and its warning signs are worth knowing regardless of how this particular case is finally decided. A promise of a fixed 5 to 6 per cent every month is a promise of roughly 80 to 100 per cent a year, a rate no genuine trading strategy can guarantee, and the guarantee itself is the red flag. A quick way to see how implausible such a figure is, is to compare it against what ordinary compounding actually delivers using a lumpsum returns calculator before parting with any money.

Two further features in the ED's account are worth internalising. First, collection through payment aggregators and stablecoins, dashboards that show "returns" as mere on-screen numbers, and a multi-level recruiter hierarchy are structural markers of a pyramid, where early payouts come from later deposits rather than from any real profit. Second, an impressive overseas base and video appearances can be a manufactured trust signal rather than evidence of substance. The protective habit is to verify: any entity soliciting investment in forex or securities in India must be registered with the relevant regulator, and that registration can be checked directly with SEBI or the RBI. The same discipline of reading the record rather than the pitch applies to assured-return claims of the kind seen in the SEBI orders against NSEL commodity brokers.

FAQ

Does this mean the people named are guilty?

No. A provisional attachment and an arrest contain allegations, not findings of guilt; the accused are presumed innocent until proven guilty, and due process continues. Navab Hassan and Harinder Pal Singh have been arrested and are in custody but not convicted, and Lavish Chaudhary is described by the ED as an absconding accused, not as a convicted person.

What exactly has the ED done so far?

Per its release of 26 September 2025, the ED has seized or attached 185 bank accounts holding Rs 391 crore, issued a Provisional Attachment Order dated 26 August 2025 over 45 immovable properties worth Rs 9.49 crore, recovered Rs 94.23 lakh in a search, and arrested two agents under Section 19(1) of the PMLA. The main accused is alleged to be abroad.

How did the scheme allegedly work?

The ED alleges investors were promised 5 to 6 per cent monthly returns from robot or AI-bot forex trading, that money was collected via payment aggregators and the USDT stablecoin, and that no real trading took place. On the agency's account, dashboards showed notional balances while new deposits paid earlier investors, and proceeds were then diverted to the UAE.

Have investors got their money back?

No distribution to investors has been reported. The ED has quantified what it has seized and attached, not investor losses, and the attached assets remain within the legal process. Any recovery would depend on confirmation of the attachments and the later stages of the case.

How can I check whether an investment scheme is genuine?

Any entity soliciting investment in securities or forex in India must be registered with the appropriate regulator, and you can verify a registration directly on the SEBI or RBI website. A guaranteed high monthly return, recruitment of new members for commissions, and payouts that depend on fresh deposits are recognised markers of a pyramid structure.

Where can I read the official record?

The primary source is the ED's press release of 26 September 2025 on the QFX matter, issued by its Chandigarh Zonal Office, which names the accused and sets out the seizures, the attachment and the arrests.

This report is based on the Enforcement Directorate press release dated 26 September 2025 in the QFX matter, reviewed on 31 July 2026.