.jpg)
On Sunday, One 97 Communication, the parent company of Paytm, denied any association with the businesses now being investigated by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in relation to a Chinese loan app. The fintech business said in a statement that none of the money the central agency had frozen belonged to it or any of the businesses in its group. Late last week, the ED conducted searches at the locations of online payment companies Paytm, Razorpay, and Cashfree.
"The ED has requested information about these merchants to whom we offer payment processing solutions as part of ongoing investigations into a particular group of merchants. To be clear, none of these merchants are part of our company; they are all separate businesses "In a regulatory filing on Sunday, Paytm stated.
None of the merchant IDs that the ED requested to be frozen, according to the digital payments company, belonged to Paytm or any of its group companies.
None of the merchant IDs that the ED requested to be frozen, according to the digital payments company, belonged to Paytm or any of its group companies.
The statement said, "We are and will be totally cooperative with the authorities, and all the directive steps are being duly carried out.
In connection with a probe into Chinese-controlled companies and persons accused of engaging in unlawful lending activities, the ED announced on Saturday that it had conducted raids at six locations of online payment gateways in Bengaluru, including Paytm, Razorpay, and Cashfree.
According to a report by PTI, the ED had confiscated money worth Rs. 17 crore that had been maintained in a few bank accounts and merchant IDs that belonged to Chinese nationals. The Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002's rules were followed when the raids were carried out.
The parent company of Paytm, One97 Communications, is supported by Ant Group, a subsidiary of Alibaba Group Holding in China.
