ED attaches assets of Shikhar Dhawan and Suresh Raina worth Rs 11.14 crore over 1xBet endorsements

New Delhi: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Thursday said it has attached assets worth Rs 11.14 crore of former cricketers Shikhar Dhawan and Suresh Raina as part of a money-laundering probe linked to an alleged illegal betting site, involving an amount of more than Rs 1,000 crore.

A provisional order has been issued under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) to attach a commercial land in Delhi of Dhawan (39) worth Rs 4.5 crore and a mutual fund of Raina (38) worth Rs 6.64 crore in the case against online betting site 1xBet, the federal agency said.

The ED's probe has found that the former cricketers "knowingly" entered into endorsement agreements with foreign entities for the promotion of 1xBet and 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," the agency alleged in a statement.

The ED, sources told PTI, considers the two assets as "proceeds of crime" of illegal betting. This ED order can be appealed against before the Adjudicating Authority of the PMLA and other legal forums.

There were no immediate comments from the two former cricketers. Dhawan announced his retirement from all forms of cricket in August, while Raina hung up his boots in 2020.

The ED also said it has detected 6,000 mule bank accounts (used to transact illicit money), searched four payment gateways that were used to route betting funds and identified 60 bank accounts linked to these platforms that hold deposits of more than Rs 4 crore.

Multiple police FIRs formed the basis for the federal agency to launch the probe against 1xBet and its surrogate brand, 1xBat.

1xBat sporting lines were engaged in promoting and facilitating illegal online betting and gambling operations across India, the agency has alleged.

Registered in Curacao, 1xBet is stated by the portal to be a globally recognised bookmaker with 18 years of experience in the betting industry.

According to the ED, "1xBet operated in India without authorisation 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 probe has found that 1xBet was "facilitating" betting and gambling for Indian users by collecting money through various mule accounts. The ED has alleged that merchants were onboarded on these gateways "without" any KYC verification.

"On verification of profiles of these merchants, it is seen that the entities declared business activities that did not match their transaction patterns, indicating laundering of funds exceeding Rs 1,000 crore," the agency said.

The ED also cautioned people against indulging in online betting and gambling.

Any person knowingly assisting or allowing his account to be used for such activities may be prosecuted under the PMLA, which provides for imprisonment up to seven years and attachment of assets derived from such illegal transactions, it said.

The Centre, a few months ago, brought a law to ban real-money online gaming in India.

Apart from Dhawan and Raina, the ED has questioned sporting icons, such as Yuvraj Singh and Robin Uthappa, actors Sonu Sood, Urvashi Rautela (the Indian brand ambassador for 1xBet), Mimi Chakraborty (a former Trinamool Congress MP) and Ankush Hazra (Bengali actor) as part of the investigation.

According to estimates by market analysis firms and probe agencies undertaken before the government ban, there were about 22 crore Indian users on various such online betting apps, and about 50% of them were regular users.

"ED reiterates that illegal betting and gambling not only cause economic harm but also facilitate money laundering and financing of unlawful activities," the agency said.