The agency alleges that Khan and others launched a gaming app called E-Nuggets to defraud the public by collecting money, but then stopping withdrawals suddenly on different pretexts, and finally wiping off all data, including profile information, from the app servers.

The accused was transferring part of the money overseas via a cryptocurrency exchange, according to the ED. One dummy account was supposedly opened on Indian exchange WazirX, from where crypto purchased was then transferred to an account in Binance. A balance of as many as 77.6 bitcoins worth roughly Rs 128 million ($1.5 million) have been frozen in that Binance account.