The ED announced that it had attached assets worth Rs 11.4 crore belonging to players Shikhar Dhawan and Suresh Raina as part of its ongoing probe into the money laundering case involving 1xBet offshore online betting. In this investigation, the agency has discovered almost Rs 1,000 crore worth of illicit betting-related transactions, and attachment processes involving additional cricket players and actors are ongoing.

Key Highlights

• The Enforcement Directorate has attached assets worth around ₹11.14 crore belonging to Suresh Raina and Shikhar Dhawan under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act in an illegal online-betting probe.
• Investigators allege the cricketers “knowingly” endorsed the offshore betting platform 1xBet via foreign entities to conceal illicit proceeds.

Suresh Raina's MF interests totaling Rs. 6.64 crore and Shikhar Dhawan's property valued at Rs. 4.5 crore are included in the attachment. Since online gambling is prohibited in India, the ED has called all of the celebrities who have supported the 1xBet platform over the previous few months and recorded their remarks. Additionally, the two cricket players' receipt of money from the platform has been referred to as proceeds of crime.

According to sources, the agency might soon seize assets belonging to other famous people who have been paid by 1xBet. Cricket players Yuvraj Singh and Robin Uthappa, actors Sonu Sood and Urvashi Rautela, and former TMC MP Mimi Chkaraborty are among those who have already been questioned in this issue.

The ED's investigation is predicated on many FIRs filed by different state police against 1xBet, an illicit offshore betting website, and 1xBat Sporting lines, a surrogate brand that promotes gambling and betting throughout India.

According to the organization, Shikhar Dhawan and Suresh Raina both intentionally signed endorsement deals with overseas companies in order to promote 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 stated.

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The agency said that in order to conceal the illicit source of cash, payments were made through layered transactions using 6,000 mule accounts and international middlemen. To conceal their source, the money collected from users in these mule accounts was sent via several payment channels. A money trail showed that more over Rs 1,000 crore had been laundered. Deposits totaling Rs 4 crore and more than 60 bank accounts connected to these payment gateways have been suspended.

The public has been cautioned by the ED not to participate in, promote, or make financial investments through these online gaming or betting sites. According to the agency, anyone who knowingly helps or permits their account to be used for such operations may face prosecution under the PMLA, which carries a maximum sentence of seven years in prison and the attachment of assets obtained via such illicit transactions.