New Delhi: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has attached assets worth Rs 11.14 crore of former cricketers Suresh Raina and Shikhar Dhawan as part of a money-laundering probe linked to the operations of an alleged illegal betting site, official sources said on Thursday.
A provisional order has been issued under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) to attach an immovable property of Dhawan worth Rs 4.5 crore and a mutual fund of Raina worth Rs 6.64 crore in the case against the online betting site named 1xBet, the sources said.
The federal agency’s probe has found that both the former cricketers “knowingly” entered into endorsement agreements with foreign entities for the promotion of 1xBet and its surrogates.
The ED has also unearthed a Rs 1,000-crore money laundering trail. “The attachment includes mutual fund investments worth Rs 6.64 crore held in the name of Suresh Raina and an immovable property valued at Rs 4.5 crore held in the name of Shikhar Dhawan,” said officials.
The ED case stems from multiple FIRs filed by state police against operators of the illegal offshore betting platform 1xBet.
“The investigation has revealed that 1xBet and its surrogate brands 1xBat and 1xBat Sporting Lines were engaged in promoting and facilitating illegal online betting and gambling operations across India,” said officials.
“Investigation revealed that both Suresh Raina and Shikhar Dhawan knowingly entered into endorsement agreements with foreign entities for the promotion of 1xBet through its 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,” officials said.
Investigation has further revealed that 1xBet operated in India without authorization and used surrogate branding and advertisements to target Indian 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 attachment follows ED’s search operations under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 (PMLA).
The investigation revealed that 1xBet was facilitating betting and gambling for Indian users by collecting money through various mule accounts. Investigation so far has revealed over 6,000 mule accounts used for deposits.
Amounts collected from users in these mule accounts were routed through multiple payment gateways to disguise their origin. Investigation revealed that merchants were onboarded on these gateways without any KYC verifications.
On verification of profiles of these merchants, it was seen that the entities’ declared business activities did not match their transaction patterns, indicating laundering of funds exceeding Rs 1,000 crore. Based on these findings, searches were conducted, resulting in the seizure of incriminating evidence. Over 60 bank accounts linked to these payment gateways have been frozen. An amount of over Rs 4 crore has been frozen so far. Further investigation is in progress.
“The Directorate of Enforcement reiterates that illegal betting and gambling not only cause economic harm but also facilitate money laundering and financing of unlawful activities. Members of the public are urged to remain vigilant and report any suspicious transactions or advertisements promoting such platforms to local law enforcement agencies or the ED,” officials said.
The ED has questioned the two, apart from other former cricketers such as Yuvraj Singh and Robin Uthappa, and actors Sonu Sood, Urvashi Rautela, Mimi Chakraborty (a former Trinamool Congress MP) and Ankush Hazra (Bengali actor), as part of this investigation.
Registered in Curacao, 1xBet is stated by the portal to be a globally recognised bookmaker with 18 years in the betting industry.
