By: Express News Service June 23, 2025 22:18 IST 2 min readThe Enforcement Directorate (ED) Friday conducted searches at various locations in Kolhapur, Surat, Ahmednagar and Pune while investigating a money laundering case linked to bogus ponzi schemes and forex trading platforms of VIPS Group of companies operated by Vinod Tukaram Khute, his family members and associates, the agency said on Monday.Various incriminating documents, details of immovable assets worth crores, digital devices and bank funds were seized and frozen, during the action.The agency initiated a money laundering investigation in the matter based on the FIR registered at Bharti Vidhyapeeth Police Station in Pune against Vinod Khute, Santosh Khute, Mangesh Khute, Kiran Pitamber Anarase, Ajinkya Badadhe and others for duping people in the name of ponzi schemes and forex trading platforms promising exorbitant returns and collected more than Rs 100 crore.The agency has claimed that the Vinod Khute, who is residing in Dubai, is the mastermind of various illicit multi-level marketing and ponzi schemes, illegal trading, crypto exchange, wallet services through VIPS Group of companies, Global Affiliate Business, Kana Capital, Real Gold Capital etc.“The search operations were conducted on the associates of Vinod Khute who were involved in enticing and luring the common public into investing in bogus or illicit schemes and illegal trading and activities of Vinod Khute. Funds collected through various shell entities were layered and ultimately withdrawn through cash and siphoned off to Dubai by conversion to Crypto/virtual assets or throughHawala channels,” the ED stated in a statement released on Monday.The anti-money laundering agency earlier conducted search operations and issued provisional attachment orders resulting in attachment and freezing of various bank balances, movable assets, immovable properties of Vinod Khute and his relatives and associates in India and Dubai amounting to Rs 75.42 crore, the ED officials said.Stay updated with the latest - Click here to follow us on Instagram© The Indian Express Pvt Ltd