New Delhi, June 15
The Enforcement Directorate conducted multiple raids on premises associated with an illegal betting app ‘Fairplay’ related to unauthorised broadcasting of IPL matches and illegal betting on cricket and Lok Sabha elections.
The raids were held on the premises of some Mumbai-based talent management agencies that had roped in Bollywood celebrities and actors to promote the app and called upon the audience to watch IPL 2023 on the Fairplay app,a part of the Mahadev Book app network.
The ED also searched premises of entry operators in Mumbai who had helped divert money paid to the actors through talent management agencies for the promotion.
The central probe agency has seized cash, details of bank funds, Demat account, and luxury watches to the tune of around Rs 8 crore. Various other incriminating documents and digital devices have also been recovered, the Enforcement Directorate said.
A case was filed by the official broadcaster of the IPL, Viacom 18, against the app promoters and actors promoting the app on social media. As per the complaint, the Fairplay app caused a revenue loss of more than Rs 100 crore.
The investigation revealed that Fairplay made agreements with Indian agencies representing Bollywood celebrities through foreign-based entities in Dubai and Curacao. It was found that no due diligence was performed by Indian agencies regarding Fairplay before executing the agreements for its promotion.
Fairplay collected funds through various bogus bank accounts, which were layered through a complex web of bank accounts of shell entities and were then accumulated in pharma companies involved in bogus billing. The funds from these companies were further siphoned off to overseas shell entities based in Hong Kong SAR, China, and Dubai.
More than 400 bank accounts of shell entities were found to be used for these purposes, which are under examination, the probe showed.
The Maharashtra Police’s Cyber Crime wing had summoned Badshah, ctors Sanjay Dutt and Tamanna Bhatia in the case. The Enforcement Directorate is probing the money laundering aspects of the case.
