The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Thursday attached assets worth Rs 11.14 crore of former cricketers Suresh Raina and Shikhar Dhawan as part of a money-laundering probe linked to an alleged illegal betting site, news agency PTI reported, quoting officials.
A provisional order under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) has been issued to attach an immovable property of Dhawan valued at Rs 4.5 crore and Raina’s Rs 6.64-crore mutual fund, in connection with the case against the online betting platform 1xBet, the sources quoted above added.
The federal agency’s probe has found that both the former cricketers “knowingly” entered into endorsement agreements with foreign entities to promote 1xBet and its surrogates, PTI reported.
Raina had earlier appeared before the Central agency in August, when he was summoned in connection with 1xBet. ED had then recorded his statement under PMLA to understand his links with the app.
Other former cricketers who have been questioned in connection with the case include Yuvraj Singh and Robin Uthappa. The ED has also interrogated actors Sonu Sood, Urvashi Rautela, Mimi Chakraborty (former Trinamool Congress MP), and Ankush Hazra in the same case.
Registered in Curacao – a Dutch Caribbean island – 1xBet is described by its website as a globally recognised bookmaker with 18 years of experience in the betting industry.
Actor Rana Daggubati had also appeared before ED earlier this year for the alleged promotion of online betting games.
In January, the Telangana Police had filed a first information report (FIR) against 25 celebrities and influencers, including Daggubati, Prakash Raj, Vijay Deverakonda, and Manchu Lakshmi, for allegedly promoting illegal betting and gambling apps on social media. The case was lodged following a petition by 32-year-old businessman PM Phanindra Sarma, who highlighted a growing trend of celebrities endorsing gambling apps in violation of the Public Gambling Act of 1867.
The FIR was registered at Miyapur Police Station in Hyderabad under multiple sections of the Telangana Gaming Act and the Information Technology Act, including Section 66(D) of the IT Act, which deals with cheating and identity theft.
The ED is probing multiple cases involving illegal betting apps, which are alleged to have duped numerous investors of crores of rupees and evaded substantial taxes.
(With PTI inputs)