ED Attaches Assets Worth ₹131.45 Crore Linked To OctaFX Scam, Including Yacht And Spain Properties

Mumbai: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has provisionally attached assets worth Rs 131.45 crore, including a luxury yacht and immovable properties in Spain, in connection with its ongoing probe against unauthorized forex trading platform OctaFX. The attachment has been made under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002.

The attached assets belong to Pavel Prozorov, the alleged mastermind behind OctaFX. According to the ED, the seized assets include movable assets such as a luxury Italian yacht named “Cherry,” a minijet boat, and a high-end car, along with two residential properties located in Spain. The yacht “Cherry” is a commercial vessel operating in the Western Mediterranean.

The yacht “Cherry”

The agency's investigation revealed that Prozorov used proceeds from illicit forex trading operations to acquire high-value assets abroad, allegedly circumventing Indian financial regulations and laundering illicit funds generated through the platform. The agency claims the purchases were made through layered transactions and a web of overseas shell companies to disguise the source of funds.

The latest ED action follows a series of searches and forensic analysis into cross-border transactions routed through OctaFX, which had earlier been flagged by financial intelligence agencies for operating without authorisation from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).

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The ED investigation revealed that OctaFX facilitated large-scale movement of illicit funds and laundered investor money through offshore assets and foreign holdings. The agency launched its probe following reports that the platform and its associated entities violated Indian laws governing foreign exchange trading.

According to the ED,OctaFX, an unauthorized forex broker promoted through Indian Premier League (IPL) sponsorships, social media campaigns, and celebrity endorsements. It allegedly collected investor funds through mule accounts created in the name of fake e-commerce companies. These shell entities, run by dummy directors and backed by falsified KYC documents, reportedly accessed domestic payment gateways by posing as legitimate merchants. The collected funds were routed through unauthorized payment aggregators and escrow accounts, adding multiple layers to obscure the trail of ownership and the nature of transactions.

According to the agency, OctaFX also deliberately altered its web domains and login URLs to evade detection and mislead investors.The platform is accused of manipulating trades to induce substantial investor losses, while siphoning the funds into e-wallets and bank accounts linked to fictitious entities.

The investigation also revealed that OctaFX generated proceeds of crime(PoC) amounting to at least Rs 800 crore from its India operations within just nine months.The agency alleges the funds were moved out of India under the guise of fake imports of services to foreign firms controlled by Prozorov. The trail of these funds extended to jurisdictions including Spain, Estonia, Russia, Hong Kong, Singapore, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and the United Kingdom (UK).

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So far, the ED has seized and attached assets worth over Rs 296 crore, including 19 properties located in Spain, allegedly owned by Prozorov. The agency has filed two prosecution complaints against OctaFX and 54 other accused individuals. The Special Court under the PMLA has taken cognizance of both complaints.