Binance helps Indian authorities trace $4.76m in Fiewin gaming scam

Leading cryptocurrency exchange, Binance, says it has helped India’s Enforcement Directorate recover $47.6 million in losses suffered by victims of a gaming scam involving the online gaming platform Fiewin.

Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange by trading volume, announced on Sept. 25, that it has assisted the Indian authorities in investigating the Fiewin gaming app, resulting in the arrest of four individuals tied to the online gaming scam.

According to the announcement, Binance’s Financial Intelligence Unit provided critical intelligence that was crucial in tracking down the flow of laundered money and the suspects behind the network.

“The Fiewin app lured users into online gambling and gaming with false promises of easy profits,”Binance wrote. Adding, Binance’s Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) assisted in tracking the funds and uncovering the fraudulent network.”

Binance’s team found that the flow of funds were distributed to various crypto-wallets linked to a global crypto exchange.

Although it has not been revealed whether the $47.6 million has been recovered or not, Binance stated that the case was still ongoing and that they would continue to aid the Indian ED in tracking down the broader criminal network behind the fraud.

An unnamed representative from India’s ED commented on the collaboration with Binance, stating that the platform’s role was crucial in untangling the complex nature of financial crime related to cryptocurrency in the Fiewin app case.

“This case showcases the critical importance of collaboration between public institutions like the ED and private entities like Binance in addressing the new types of digital threats,” a Binance spokesperson added.

Fiewin is an online gaming app that initially promoted itself as a legitimate platform where users could easily earn money by playing mini-games. New users created accounts so that they could participate in the app’s games, which involved the option to “top-up” their in-app balances.

However, users quickly found that once their funds reached a certain amount, the app would freeze their accounts so that their funds could not be recovered. The Indian police started to receive numerous reports from victims who have lost their money to the app, per Binance.

Due to the growing number of reports, the case was taken over by the Enforcement Directorate, India’s special unit for combating financial crime.

Through the investigation, the ED discovered that Fiewin was part of a much larger international crime network that orchestrated the movement of illicit funds through various methods, including bank accounts and crypto wallets which accumulated to a complex web of difficult-to-trace transactions.

This is not the first time the Indian ED has partnered with Binance on an investigation. In May 2024, The ED and Binance’s FIU also managed to uncover the E-Nugget scam, a digital investment fraud which used a gaming platform to lure in victims.

Through blockchain analysis and field investigations, the team was able to identify and freeze 42 digital asset accounts and hundreds of bank accounts containing funds of nearly $6 million stolen from users of the gaming platform.

On Aug 19. 2023, Binance was officially registered as an Indian Intelligence reporting entity. The registration came after a seven-month ban on Binance by the Indian authorities due to operating without proper registration.