High Court Refuses to De-freeze Bank Accounts Linked to Online Gaming Fraud

The petitioner, Buckbox Infotech Private Ltd., filed a writ petition seeking to de-freeze its bank accounts which were blocked by the Director General of GST Intelligence (DGGI). The investigation revealed that the petitioner’s platform was allegedly used for illegal online gaming and betting activities by an entity named “Digihub.” It was found that over 35,064 bank accounts received payouts through the petitioner’s platform.

The authorities alleged that these transactions resulted in a significant loss of Government revenue. The petitioner argued that they had an undertaking from Digihub regarding the legality of the business and were merely a service provider.

Main Issue: Whether the High Court should exercise its extraordinary jurisdiction to de-freeze the bank accounts of a payment intermediary when an investigation into a massive online gaming and betting scam is still in progress.

HC’s Decision: The High Court dismissed the writ petition and refused to de-freeze the accounts. The Division Bench observed that the petitioner failed to perform basic due diligence on “Digihub” and exclusively relied on a mere undertaking.

The Court noted the petitioner did not verify the actual nature of the business through websites or invoices. As the transactions involved over 35,000 accounts and the fact that the investigation was still at a critical stage of analyzing dubious fund flows, the Court held that judicial interference was not warranted. The Rule was discharged without any order as to costs.

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