Law & Justice

ED probes two foreign firms over $1 million transfer linked to India

By Pradeep Thakur

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has opened an investigation into two foreign entities for allegedly meddling in India’s domestic affairs and for a suspicious $1 million transfer to a UK‑based firm with Indian links. The ED identified TCC Digital Markets Ltd, registered in Saint Kitts and Nevis, as the source of funds that reached Indian entities and individuals through layered transactions across Germany, Dubai, Lithuania, Canada, St Kitts and the UK. A German trust, Dr Matthias Karl Vogt Trust, was found to be the actual source of the $1 million. The trust first sent the money to XBase Digital UAB in Lithuania to circumvent German law, according to a senior official. An undated letter from Dr Matthias Vogt indicated the payment was made in digital currency. Intelligence suggested the digital assets may have come from hawala transfers to Dubai and the Lithuanian entity before moving to the UK. The UK firm received $1 million between February and March 2026 in its Airwallex (UK) Ltd account. The money passed through multiple layers, including a Lithuanian‑registered entity, and was ultimately presented as a “grant” from the Saint Kitts and Nevis‑registered firm, which transferred the funds in two tranches of £67,006 and £71,746 to the UK firm before reaching end users in India. The Caribbean islands are known as a tax haven used for laundering proceeds of crime by global economic offenders. The ED also found a transaction by Canadian‑registered ZBase Digital Inc, which transferred $500,000 in February to the same UK firm’s Airwallex account. Indian agencies are verifying these details with Airwallex. The combined value of the two alleged transactions is $1.5 million.