Luxury Yacht “Cherry” Seized as ED Cracks Down on Rs. 800 Crore Forex Scam Linked to OctaFX Mastermind
(Syed Ali Taher Abedi)
Mumbai 3, July,2025-In a major development, the Directorate of Enforcement (ED), Mumbai Zonal Office has provisionally attached assets worth approximately ₹131.45 crore, including a luxury yacht and upscale Spanish real estate, as part of its probe into an alleged massive forex trading scam involving the unauthorized platform OctaFX.
The assets belong to Pavel Prozorov, the alleged ringleader behind OctaFX, and include: “Cherry”, an Italian-model commercial yacht cruising the Western Mediterranean A minijet boat A luxury car Two premium residential properties in Spain. The ED’s investigation was triggered by an FIR from Shivaji Nagar Police Station, Pune, against several individuals accused of duping investors with false promises of high returns via OctaFX.
Key Findings from the ED Investigation: OctaFX operated illegally in India, promoting its platform via celebrity endorsements, IPL ads, and social media Investor funds were funnelled through fake e-commerce firms and mule accounts. Shell companies used falsified KYC documents and accessed payment gateways as “merchants”
Funds were routed via unauthorized aggregators and disguised as service imports, eventually reaching overseas entities linked to Prozorov in countries like Spain, Russia, UAE, UK, Hong Kong, Estonia, and Singapore
OctaFX manipulated trades, caused investor losses, and hid its operations by frequently changing URLs and web domains
In just nine months, proceeds of crime totaling at least ₹800 crore were allegedly generated and siphoned out of India.
So far, ED has seized assets worth over ₹296 crore, which include 19 Spanish properties. Two prosecution complaints have been filed against OctaFX and 54 others, with the Hon’ble Special Court (PMLA) officially taking cognizance. The case underscores growing concerns about unregulated online trading platforms and the elaborate laundering mechanisms that fuel them. Further investigation is currently underway.
