Paytm parent One97 Communications shares nosedive up to 9% in trade; trim losses later

Besides Paytm, Razorpay, PayU, and Easebuzz are among the eight payment gateways that have come under investigation with the ED freezing around ₹500 crore in their virtual accounts over the last two years in connection with 10 Chinese nationals running one of the biggest cryptocurrency scams, HPZ Token, from India, Times of India reported on Friday.

At 11 am, the stock was trading at ₹827.85, down 2.49% on BSE.

The accused allegedly encouraged individuals to invest in cryptocurrency mining, including Bitcoin, through the mobile app HPZ Token. They operated a pan-India network, where they allegedly collected more than ₹2,200 crore from people across 20 states where people were given the option to invest in the mining of cryptocurrencies, including bitcoins, through the mobile app HPZ Token. They then remitted the “proceeds of crime” out of the country, a part of which was frozen with the payment gateways before they were remitted to beneficiaries.

The scam unfolded while making bulk payments. The amount remained with the gateways for a day or two, during which ED had frozen around ₹500 crore, the report added.

Paytm Q3 FY25 Results

Paytm owner One97 Communications reported a narrowing of consolidated loss to ₹208.5 crore in the third quarter ended December 31, 2024 (Q3 FY25). The company had posted a loss of ₹221.7 crore in the same period a year ago, the company said.

The revenue from operations of Paytm declined by 35.8% to ₹1,827.8 crore during the reported quarter, from ₹2,850.5 crore logged in the December 2024 quarter.

The revenue was, however, up 10% on a quarter-on-quarter basis, the company added.