Rs 400 crore earned in online betting: ED
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has told a Special Court in Indore that members of a syndicate involved in illegal ‘dabba trading’ or illegal and unregulated trading of securities, and online betting activities internationally earned Rs 404.46 crore through criminal means.
The ED gave this information in a release on Tuesday. The central probe agency has filed a prosecution complaint against a syndicate involved in illegal ‘dabba trading’ and online betting activities operating on a large scale in Indore, Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Chennai and Dubai, it said.
A complaint was filed on Monday before a special court for Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) cases in Indore, the release said. “The investigation identified Proceeds of Crime amounting to Rs 404.46 crore derived from manipulated trading platforms, illegal betting websites and unregulated white label applications,” it said.
According to the release, in addition to this quantification, the investigation led to the provisional attachment of assets worth Rs 34.26 crore, comprising immovable properties worth Rs 28.60 crore, movable assets valued at Rs 3.83 crore, and balances of Rs 1.83 crore in bank order accounts. Major seizures effected during search proceedings included more than Rs 5.21 crore in cash, 59.9 kilograms of silver bars and a 100-gram gold bar.
The ED also secured high-value luxury items, including jewellery worth approximately Rs 1.94 crore and luxury watches valued at Rs 4.77 crore, along with frozen cryptocurrency holdings exceeding Rs 0.41 crore.
“The investigation has revealed the existence of a technologically manipulated ecosystem involving rigged trading platforms, unlawful betting websites, and cross-border laundering mechanisms. Vishal Agnihotri has been identified as the principal operator.” The release also mentions separate charges against Tarun Shrivastava, Srinivasan Ramasamy, Dhaval Devraj Jain, Dharmesh Rajnikant Trivedi, and Nidhi Chandnani.
