Former Indian cricketer Yuvraj Singh appeared before the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Tuesday for questioning in a money laundering case linked to online betting app 1xBet.
Yuvraj reached the agency's office in central Delhi at around 12 noon, accompanied by his legal team. The investigating officer of the case questioned him and recorded his statement under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). An influencer, Anveshi Jain, also appeared before the ED for questioning in the same case.
The ED has questioned former cricketers Suresh Raina, Shikhar Dhawan and Robin Uthappa, apart from former TMC MP and actor Mimi Chakraborty and Bengali actor Ankush Hazra in the past few weeks as part of this probe. Actor Sonu Sood has been summoned for Wednesday.
Also read: Uthappa appears before ED in online betting app case
The investigation into the operations of the 1xBet betting app is part of the ED's wider probe against such platforms on allegations of duping several people of crores of rupees and reportedly evading direct and indirect taxes.
Curacao-registered 1xBet claims to be a globally recognised bookmaker with 18 years of experience in the betting industry. The brand's customers can place bets on thousands of sporting events.
More sportspersons, movie actors, online influencers and celebrities are likely to be questioned by the agency in the coming days as part of these investigations.
The ED may also soon initiate the process to attach assets of individuals in this case who are found using the alleged proceeds of crime generated from the promotional activities of the app. A chargesheet will be filed subsequently in court.
The agency's line of investigation is to know from the celebrities as to how they were contacted by the betting company seeking their endorsement, the nodal person(s) for contact in India, the mode of payment (cash through hawala or banking channel) and place of the payment (in India or abroad), etc.
The agency, while recording the statements of the cricketers and actors, is understood to be asking them if they knew that online betting and gaming was illegal in India. It has also asked them to furnish a copy of their contracts and all relevant email and paper documentation made by them with 1xBet.
The agency is also looking at the end use of the money taken by the celebrities to check if any of them can be categorised as the "proceeds of crime" under the PMLA. The Union government recently banned real money online gaming in India by bringing a legislation.
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