New Delhi: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) Thursday attached assets worth more than Rs 11 crore of former India cricketers Suresh Raina and Shikhar Dhawan as part of money laundering proceedings into the operations of the 1XBet betting application.
In the provisional attachment order, the ED attached mutual funds worth Rs 6.64 crore of Raina, while Dhawan’s immovable property worth Rs 4.5 crore face similar action.
Under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), the ED can attach properties if it has “reasons to believe” that any asset originated from a criminal offence. The adjudicating authority under the PMLA must confirm the provisional attachment of assets within 180 days from the date of the provisional order for the agency to take possession of the assets.
The agency had earlier recorded statements of Raina and Dhawan as part of the investigation. Apart from the duo, Yuvraj Singh and Robin Uthappa were also questioned by the agency’s sleuths for their role in promoting the betting app.
Giving details of the investigation, an ED spokesperson said that both Raina and Dhawan “knowingly entered into agreements with foreign entities to promote 1xBet through its surrogates.”
1XBet and its surrogate brands, such as 1XBAT Sporting lines, encouraged and facilitated illegal online betting and gambling operations across India, according to the spokesperson.
“These endorsements were made in return for payments routed through foreign entities to conceal the illicit origin of the funds, which are linked to proceeds of crime generated from illegal betting activities.”
The ED estimates that funds in excess of Rs 1,000 crore were laundered from the operations of these applications.
“Investigation has revealed that 1xBet operated in India without authorisation and used surrogate branding and advertisements to target users through social media, online videos, and print media. Payments for endorsements were structured through layered transactions using foreign intermediaries to disguise the illegal source of funds,” the spokesperson added.
The agency found that the promoters and individuals running the operations of 1xBet allegedly used over 6,000 mule accounts for deposits, and these deposits made by end users were routed through multiple payment gateways to conceal their true origin.
(Edited by Tony Rai)