HC issues notice to ED over arrest of Gameskraft founders

The Karnataka High Court on Tuesday sought a response from the Enforcement Directorate (ED) to writ petitions filed by the founders of the online gaming company Gameskraft, challenging their arrest in a money laundering case.

A vacation bench of Justice MG Shukure Kamal issued the notice on petitions filed by Deepak Singh, Prithvi Raj Singh, and Vikas Taneja. The judge posted the case for hearing on May 14.

ED officials arrested the Gameskraft founders from Gurugram last week on allegations of luring players into real-money games and laundering about Rs 250 crore.


The agency alleged that Gameskraft and its arms lured people to its real-money rummy platforms through bonuses, referral incentives, instant cash offers, and tournament-related benefits. The platform allowed first timers to win small amounts in initial low-stake games.

The ED has also alleged that the Gameskraft founders had diverted and laundered about Rs 250 crore under the guise of investments in futures and options and mutual funds. It arrested the three founders on May 8 in Telangana and later produced them before a local court in Bengaluru. The court remanded them to ED custody.