LOXAM app case: On ED’s objection, court rejects bail plea of Bhupesh Arora

New Delhi, Sep 25 (IANS) In a case related to cyber-enabled investment frauds through the LOXAM app, a Special PMLA Court here rejected the bail plea of Bhupesh Arora, a key accused and fugitive economic offender, an ED official said on Thursday.

The court, on September 20, rejected the bail plea of Arora after the ED opposed the bail application. Arora was arrested by the Directorate of Enforcement (ED) on July 11, 2025 after evading law enforcement agencies for several years, said the official in a statement.

He had fled to Dubai in early 2022 along with associates to escape ongoing cyber fraud investigations and was apprehended upon his clandestine re-entry into India via the Nepal border, the ED said.

Arora has emerged as a critical conspirator in orchestrating the laundering of illicit proceeds. Evidence, including statements recorded under Section 50 of PMLA, confirms his role in arranging cash withdrawals, forex conversion, and cross-border movement of funds in collusion with money changers and other intermediaries, the ED said.

The ED, had taken up investigation under PMLA, 2002 against Xindai Technologies Pvt Ltd, Bhupesh Arora, Rohit Vij and others, initiated on the basis of an FIR of July 26, 2022, registered by the Hyderabad police.

The FIR alleged that certain Chinese nationals, in connivance with few Indians, have duped various individual investors through an investment app ‘LOXAM’, falsely projecting it as part of a reputed French MNC and offering unrealistic returns on investments.

The investments, received/collected through this app were diverted outside country by converting it into foreign exchange through various money changers, the FIR said.

The ED filed a Prosecution Complaint under the PMLA, 2002, exposing the LOXAM app as a fraudulent investment platform falsely projecting links to a reputed French MNC.

Thousands of unsuspecting investors were lured with promises of exorbitant returns, only to have their funds siphoned through a complex web of shell entities, virtual accounts, and payment gateways.

During the course of investigation, searches were conducted at five premises where in various digital devices as well as properties worth Rs 2.01 crore were seized, the ED said.

More than 500 bank accounts were analysed which revealed that Proceeds of Crime (POC) exceeding Rs 311 crore were channelled through Xindai Technologies Pvt. Ltd. and allied entities before being layered into accounts of Ranjan Moneycorp Pvt. Ltd. and KDS Forex Pvt. Ltd.

These illicit funds were further converted into foreign currency and remitted abroad through hawala operators. The probe has also traced foreign exchange transactions of nearly Rs 903 crore, routed via shell entities operating with common IP addresses and coordinated payout mechanisms from payment gateways — patterns consistent with typologies flagged by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) on cyber-enabled money laundering.

–IANS

rch/pgh