ED probes foreign funding trail over attempts to interfere in India’s domestic affairs
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has launched an investigation into two foreign entities over suspected financial transactions allegedly linked to attempts to interfere in India's domestic affairs, including a $1 million transfer to a UK-based firm with links to India.
According to a report by The Times of India, the agency has identified TCC Digital Markets Ltd, a company registered in Saint Kitts and Nevis, lnd individuals in India through a series of layered transactions across multiple countries.
Investigators have traced the original source of the $1 million to the Dr Matthias Karl Vogt Trust in Germany. According to a senior official familiar with the investigation, the trust initially transferred the money to Lithuania-based XBase Digital UAB, allegedly to circumvent German law, before it was routed through other entities to the UK.
The initial investigation also uncovered an undated letter from Dr Matthias Vogt stating that the payment had been made in digital currency. Intelligence inputs gathered by the agency suggest that the digital assets may have originated from hawala transactions in Dubai before being transferred to Lithuania and subsequently routed to the UK.
The UK-based firm received the $1 million in its Airwallex (UK) Ltd account between February and March 2026. The money subsequently passed through multiple entities and financial channels before being transferred as a grant by TCC Digital Markets Ltd in two instalments of £67,006 and £71,746, sources familiar with the investigation said.
The ED has also identified a separate transaction involving Canada-registered ZBase Digital Inc, which allegedly transferred $500,000 to the same UK firm's Airwallex account in February 2026.
Indian agencies are in the process of verifying the transaction details with Airwallex. The combined value of the two alleged transactions under scrutiny is $1.5 million.
The investigation is examining the movement of funds across Germany, Dubai, Lithuania, Canada, Saint Kitts and Nevis and the UK, as well as the identities of the ultimate recipients in India.