Online betting app case: ED attaches assets of celebs including Yuvraj Singh, Sonu Sood

New Delhi: In a major move in the probe into the illegal online betting app case, the Enforcement Directorate on Friday said it has attached assets worth a combined Rs 8 crore of former Indian cricketers, actors and models like Yuvraj Singh, Robin Uthappa, ex TMC MP Mimi Chakraborty, Sonu Sood and some others. Model Neha Sharma, Bengali actor Ankush Hazra and Meera Rautela, the mother of actor and online betting app named 1xbet India Ambassador Urvashi Rautela, are among others whose properties were attached by the central agency.

The federal probe agency also "warned" celebrities and social media influencers that endorsing or promoting illegal betting or gambling platforms, including through surrogate promotions, is a punishable offence that attracts action under applicable laws, reported PTI.

The total value of properties under this fresh provisional attachment order, issued under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), is ₹7.93 crore, the agency said in a statement.

This, as per official sources, includes assets worth about ₹1 crore of Sood, ₹59 lakh of Chakraborty, ₹2.5 crore of Yuvraj Singh's company named YWC Health and Wellness Pvt. Ltd., ₹1.26 crore of Sharma, ₹8.26 lakh of Uthappa, R₹47.20 lakh of Hazra and ₹2.02 crore of Rautela's mother.

The statements of all these celebrities were recorded by the agency for multiple hours and these assets have been alleged to be the "proceeds of crime" (illicit money under the PMLA) of illegal online betting.

The ED alleged in the statement that these celebrities "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," it said.

Curacao-based 1xBet, as per the ED, 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 agency's probe found.

The money laundering probe stems from multiple FIRs registered by various state police agencies against the operators of 1xBet, and ED's investigation found that the offshore betting app had a "surrogate" brand by the name 1xBat.

1xBat sporting lines were engaged in promoting and facilitating "illegal" online betting and gambling operations across India, the ED claimed.

In a similar action undertaken in October, the agency had attached assets worth Rs 11.14 crore of former cricketers Shikhar Dhawan and Suresh Raina as part of this investigation.

The Union government has recently brought legislation to ban real-money online gaming in India.

According to estimates by market research firms and probe agencies conducted before the government ban, there were about 22 crore Indian users on various online betting apps, of whom half were regular users.

The ED said in a footnote in the statement that illegal betting and gambling platforms cause serious economic harm and are widely used for money laundering and other unlawful activities.

"The public is advised to avoid such platforms and report any suspicious transactions or advertisements to law enforcement agencies, or the ED," it said.