The directorate of enforcement (ED) has conducted search operations across Mumbai, Bengaluru, Jalandhar, Indore and Kolkata in connection with a major forex scam involving shell companies and unregulated trading platforms. The action, carried out on 16 May 2025, pertains to investigations against TM Traders, KK Traders, TP Global FX and associated entities under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002.
During the coordinated raids, ED officials seized foreign currencies amounting to around Rs6.4 lakh, gold bullion worth Rs55.7 lakh, and bank balances totalling approximately Rs94 lakh. Officials also recovered property documents, several digital devices and incriminating documents from various locations.
The ongoing investigation stems from multiple first information reports (FIRs) registered by Kolkata, Maharashtra and Gujarat police under various Sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). The probe centres on allegations that the accused lured the general public into a fraudulent forex trading scheme through unregulated platforms.
According to the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), TP Global FX is not registered with or authorised by the RBI to conduct forex trading. The central bank had earlier issued an alert list on 7 September 2022, warning the public about such unauthorised platforms, including TP Global FX.
ED investigation has uncovered that individuals such as Prasenjit Das and Tushar Patel used numerous dummy companies to orchestrate an elaborate scam, promising high returns on forex trading investments through TP Global FX. The scheme allegedly drew in thousands of investors through aggressive promotion by IX Global, a multi-level marketing platform with a global reach.
The directors and promoters of IX Global — Viraj Suhas Patil and Joseph Martinez — are accused of actively endorsing TP Global FX as a preferred broker to their vast user base. ED has found that several members and users of IX Global used the TP Global FX brokerage platform to conduct forex trades.
Further enquiries revealed that multiple police complaints have been lodged across India against TP Global FX, IX Global, IX Academy Pvt Ltd and various influencers associated with the scheme. The accused include Tushar Patel, Joseph Martinez and Viraj Suhas Patil, among others.
This is not ED’s first action in the matter. In earlier phases of the investigation, the agency arrested Shailesh Kumar Pandey, Prasenjit Das and Viraj Suhas Patil. Authorities have already seized or attached assets worth around Rs270 crore, including cash, gold, real estate, hospitality assets, office spaces, agricultural land, vehicles, cryptocurrencies and bank funds.
ED has filed two prosecution complaints against the arrested individuals. The special court under the PMLA has taken cognisance of the offence of money laundering.
In November 2022, Pranjal R Daniel of Strategy India, a direct selling consultancy, sent a communication to the SEBI chief alerting on a forex trading and investments scam allegedly worth around Rs16,000 crore run by TP Global FX and thedebtbox.com, an associate of iX Global.
In the communication to the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), Mr Daniel mentioned that "Apart from collections of money against monthly 'subscriptions' for forex trading bots (US$50/115/145/180=US$100mn-million from April 2022 to 8 October 2022), investments of more than Rs16,000 crore in TP Global FX (in the alert list of RBI) and the collection of deposits and investments for the debt box, also not permitted by SEBI."
"iX Global also collected Rs104.70 crore from investors 'against' investment in a non-fungible token (NFT) at US$1500 per unit if purchased in seven days (March 2022) and US$1750 per unit if purchased after seven days," he says. NFT is a unique digital identifier recorded on a blockchain. It is used to certify ownership and authenticity and can be transferred by the e-owner only.
