ED attaches assets worth 1.84 cr in illegal betting apps probe

The ED has attached assets worth ₹1.84 crore in a money laundering probe linked to illegal betting apps, revealing misuse of dummy bank accounts.

MUMBAI: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has provisionally attached movable assets worth ₹1.84 crore as part of its money laundering investigation into alleged illegal betting via mobile apps. ED’s probe in the case revealed that alleged dummy bank accounts in the name of fictitious entities had been opened for transferring funds obtained from two illegal betting apps, which were operated as ‘CBTF247’ and ‘T20EXCHANGE’.

ED attaches assets worth 1.84 cr in illegal betting apps probe

The agency’s case is against one Harish and others, while the attached assets are in the name of the proprietor of two firms that are under the probe’s scanner, ED sources said. The agency’s investigation is based on a case registered by the Surat police, wherein it was alleged that the accused persons had obtained identity documents of multiple gullible individuals, prepared rent agreements in their names, and forged signatures of shop owners in such agreements.

The accused had allegedly misused the identity documents for procuring license for the opening of dummy firms and had set up dummy bank accounts with multiple banks, according to the agency.

“ED’s investigation revealed that these dummy accounts were used for the purpose of transferring the funds obtained from the two illegal betting apps,” said an ED source. ED’s probe traced the alleged proceeds of crime, that is the money generated through these betting apps, and it was revealed that the dummy bank accounts in the names of various fictitious entities were set up for routing and layering of money generated from betting.

The agency’s investigation also revealed that the proprietor of the two suspicious firms under the scanner had allegedly received proceeds of crime from the dubious bank accounts. The agency had earlier frozen bank balances worth around ₹5.67 crore across 92 bank accounts.