Karnataka high court seeks ED's response to Gameskraft founders' plea against arrest in money laundering case

NEW DELHI: The Karnataka high court has sought a response from the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on petitions filed by the founders of online gaming company Gameskraft, challenging their recent arrest in a money laundering case, as per a report by Bar and Bench.A vacation bench comprising Justice MGS Kamal issued notice to the ED on the petitions moved by Deepak Singh, Prithvi Raj Singh and Vikas Taneja, the founders of Gameskraft Technologies. The matter is scheduled to be heard next on May 14.ED raided multiple locations in Delhi-NCR and Bengaluru, and arrested the founders from Gurgaon on May 8, following the FIRs registered against them in Telangana, on allegations of luring players into real-money games and laundering approximately Rs 250 crore.The ED later produced them before a Bengaluru trial court, following which they were remanded to ED custody.According to the agency, Gameskraft and its associated entities allegedly lured users to their real-money rummy platforms through bonuses, referral incentives, instant cash offers and tournament benefits. First-time users were allegedly allowed to win small amounts in initial low-stake games to build confidence and create an impression of easy earnings, which was then used to induce larger deposits.

The ED further alleged that the founders and directors diverted and laundered Rs 250 crore under the guise of investments in futures and options and mutual funds, in collusion with Gameskraft's former Chief Financial Officer Ramesh Prabhu, according to Bar and Bench report.According to the ED, they run multiple real money gaming platforms, including 'RummyCulture' and the Rummytime app.Before the high court, Senior Advocate Dr S Muralidhar, appearing for Deepak Singh, contended that the arrest was illegal. He further submitted that Gameskraft had closed its operations following the passage of The Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Act, 2025. Similar petitions were moved by co-founders Prithvi Raj Singh and Vikas Taneja, represented by Senior Advocate Sajan Poovayya.