Agency mounts investigation against two foreign entitiesNEW DELHI: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has initiated an investigation against two foreign entities for their alleged involvement in India's domestic affairs and in connection with a suspicious transfer of $1 million to a UK-based firm having links to India.ED has identified TCC Digital Markets Ltd, a firm registered in the tax haven of Saint Kitts and Nevis, as the source of funds that reached entities and individuals in India through layered transactions, moving across different jurisdictions, including Germany, Dubai, Lithuania, Canada, St Kitts and the UK.Dr Matthias Karl Vogt Trust of Germany has been identified as the actual source of the $1 million fund, which was transferred to a UK-based entity through layered transactions before being moved to India.The German trust had first transferred the funds to XBase Digital UAB (Lithuania) to get around German law, according to a senior official aware of the probe.Initial probe led the agency to an undated letter from Dr Matthias Vogt, which stated that the payment was made in digital currency.Intelligence gathered by the agency revealed that…
ED tracking $1m transfer to 'meddle in domestic affairs'
In short
The Enforcement Directorate found that Germany's Dr Matthias Karl Vogt Trust initially sent digital assets through Lithuania and Dubai before channeling money through a Caribbean entity. These funds were packaged as a grant and transferred in two tranches to a UK-based firm's Airwallex account between February and March 2026 for final distribution in India. Investigators are also probing a separate $500,000 transfer sent in February to the same UK account by Canada-based ZBase Digital Inc. Indian authorities are now working directly with Airwallex to verify transaction records totaling $1.5 million.
Key points
- The financial scheme relied on complex layering across Germany, Lithuania, Dubai, Canada,…: The financial scheme relied on complex layering across Germany, Lithuania, Dubai, Canada, Saint Kitts and Nevis, and the United Kingdom.
- Indian authorities are coordinating directly with UK-based Airwallex to authenticate paym…: Indian authorities are coordinating directly with UK-based Airwallex to authenticate payment records tied to the combined one-point-five million dollars.
- Intelligence indicates digital currencies and suspected hawala networks in Dubai were del…: Intelligence indicates digital currencies and suspected hawala networks in Dubai were deliberately leveraged to obfuscate the origin of foreign funding.