The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Friday raided the residence of a couple running an adult webcam streaming studio in Noida city of India’s northern state Uttar Pradesh.
The couple allegedly ran an adult webcam streaming studio and shot adult videos of models at their residence, and supplied the videos to a Cyprus-based company
They allegedly ran an adult webcam streaming studio from their residence for a Cyprus-based company, Technius Limited, which hosts international pornographic sites, said a PTI report, citing ED sources.
Technius Limited runs the adult webcam website Stripchat and the porn website XHamster.
The couple used to hire models through advertisements on social media platforms and “retained” about 75 per cent of the earnings generated by them. The ED seized ₹8 lakh in cash during their raids.
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The raids were conducted by the ED under the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA).
The agency is conducting an investigation against a company named Subdigi Ventures Private Limited, owned by the couple based in Noida.
According to sources quoted by PTI, the couple received “foreign remittance” in bank accounts under the garb of providing advertising, market research, and public opinion polling services.
“These funds, however, were allegedly proceeds from adult content streamed on XHamster,” the ED said.
According to ED sources, this violated the FEMA, as the funds were received as payment for adult content services, which is illegal.
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The ED also uncovered illegal remittances totalling ₹15.66 crore in the bank accounts of the company and its directors. Besides, it identified an undisclosed bank account in the Netherlands in which Technius Limited allegedly transferred approximately Rs 7 crore that was withdrawn in cash in India by using international debit cards.
Stripchat is an adult webcam website that charges tokens from the user to interact with models. The users pay the models in the form of these tokens.
The ED sources told PTI that the officials in the search team have recorded the statement of some models found at the couple’s residence during the raids.