The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Thursday attached movable and immovable assets worth approximately ₹11.14 crore belonging to former Indian cricketers Shikhar Dhawan and Suresh Raina in connection with an alleged illegal betting app-linked money laundering case, sources in the agency said.
“The agency has attached their assets in connection with a money laundering case linked to 1xBet, an online betting platform. The attachment includes mutual fund investments worth approximately ₹6.64 crore held in the name of Raina, as well as an immovable property valued at ₹4.5 crore in the name of Dhawan,” said an ED official.
The agency had earlier questioned the two former cricketers, besides Bollywood actors Sonu Sood and Urvashi Rautela and former Trinamool MP Mimi Chakraborty, in connection with the case.
An ED official said the agency’s probe under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) was based on multiple FIRs registered by the police in several states against the operators of the illegal offshore betting platform 1xBet.
The agency is probing multiple such cases involving illegal betting apps that are alleged to have swindled numerous people and investors out of crores of rupees or evaded a huge amount of taxes. As many as 29 celebrities, including actors, cricketers and influencers who promoted these platforms, are under the scanner.
“The investigation has also revealed that Raina and Dhawan knowingly entered into endorsement agreements with foreign entities for the promotion of 1xBet through their surrogates. 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 official said.
“1xBet and its surrogate brand 1xBat Sporting Lines were engaged in promoting and facilitating illegal online betting and gambling operations across India. 1xBet operated in India without authorisation and used surrogate branding and advertisements to target Indian users through social media, online videos, and print media.”
According to him, payments for endorsements were structured through layered transactions using foreign intermediaries to disguise the illegal source of funds.