ED attaches Rs 219 crore in assets linked to 'Fairplay' portal case

New Delhi: The Enforcement Directorate has attached fresh assets worth around Rs 219 crore in a money laundering case against a website that allegedly indulged in online betting on 2023 Lok Sabha election results apart from an illegal broadcast of IPL cricket matches, the agency said.

A provisional order under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) was issued last week (November 22) to attach demat account holdings and immovable assets like land plots, flats and commercial warehouses located at Ajmer (Rajasthan), Kutch (Gujarat), Daman, Thane and Mumbai (Maharashtra) in the case against the portal named Fairplay, it said in a statement.

The central agency said Fairplay was involved in "illegal broadcasting of cricket/IPL matches and various online betting activities, including results of Lok Sabha Elections 2024." The total value of these assets is Rs 219.66 crore, the ED said.

The agency had earlier attached properties worth more than Rs 100 crore in this case. The total attachment now stands at over Rs 331 crore.

The money laundering case stems from an FIR of the Mumbai police cyber cell, which was filed on the complaint of Viacom18 Media against Fairplay Sport LLC and others for causing a loss of revenue of more than Rs 100 crore.

The probe found that Krish Laxmichand Shah (the key person behind Fairplay) registered various companies such as Play Ventures NV and Dutch Antilles Management NV at Curacao, Fair Play Sport LLC and Fairplay Management DMCC in Dubai and Play Ventures Holding Limited at Malta for the operations of 'Fairplay'.

Fairplay is primarily being operated by Shah from Dubai with the help of his associates, such as Siddhant Shankaran Iyer, alias Joe Paul, who looked after the financial aspects of Fairplay, Chirag Shah and Chintan Shah who took care of the technological and software development aspects of Fairplay.

Shah and his associates "acquired" movable and immovable assets from the "proceeds of crime" either in their names or in the name of their relatives or family members, the ED said.