Karnataka HC Hears WinZO's ZO Games Plea to Defreeze ₹24.5 Crore Amid ED Probe

• Karnataka High Court heard ZO Games' plea to partially defreeze ₹24.60 crore in assets frozen by the ED under PMLA.
• ZO Games, a WinZO subsidiary, seeks funds for employee salaries (220 staff, ₹11.5 crore monthly bill) and operating expenses.
• The ED had previously frozen ₹192 crore of ZO Games' assets and alleges diversion of funds abroad by WinZO.
• Court also heard WinZO's plea to quash an FIR for alleged PAN card misuse and founder Saumya Singh Rathore's challenge to ED's jurisdiction.
• ED is investigating alleged financial irregularities, undisclosed algorithms, and restricted customer withdrawals by WinZO, freezing over ₹505 crore in total.

Why It Matters: Karnataka HC is reviewing WinZO's plea to access frozen funds for operations amidst ongoing ED money-laundering investigations.