The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has summoned representatives of tech giants Google and Meta to appear before its Delhi office on July 21 in connection with an ongoing probe into alleged money laundering linked to online betting applications.
The ED is investigating the financial and operational links between illegal "dabba trading" and online betting apps and suspected violations of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), reported news agency ANI.
This latest crackdown comes amid an intensified effort by the Enforcement Directorate to closely track a sprawling network of online betting platforms. Many of these apps are allegedly falsely presented as skill-based gaming services but are involved in illegal gambling operations. The ED suspects that these platforms have generated illicit proceeds running into crores of rupees, funnelling the money through intricate hawala routes to evade regulatory scrutiny.
“Hawala operators and fund handlers identified, with digital and financial records, are being examined,” the officials, who are privy to the development, told ANI.
{{/usCountry}}“Hawala operators and fund handlers identified, with digital and financial records, are being examined,” the officials, who are privy to the development, told ANI.
{{/usCountry}}The summons to Google and Meta comes just days after the ED conducted raids at four locations in Mumbai related to this case. The agency seized unaccounted cash amounting to ₹3.3 crore, foreign currency, luxury watches, high-end vehicles, and jewellery. Cash-counting machines were also recovered during the searches.
The case was initiated based on a First Information Report filed at Lasudiya Police Station in Madhya Pradesh’s Indore on January 9 this year, invoking Sections 319(2) and 318(4) of the Bhartiya Nyaya Sanhita (formerly IPC Sections 419 and 420).
Why Google and Meta were summoned
According to ED sources cited by ANI, the two tech giants were summoned because “Google and Meta platforms are promoting betting apps through advertisements and facilitating their reach to users.” The agency is scrutinising the role of these platforms in allowing illegal betting operations to flourish through paid promotions and targeted reach.
Several platforms and individuals have been inspected, including VMoney, VM Trading, Standard Trades Ltd, IBull Capital Ltd, LotusBook, 11Starss, and GameBetLeague.
Officials said, "Vishal Agnihotri, the beneficial owner of VMoney and 11Starss, acquired the ADMIN rights of the LotusBook betting platform on a 5 per cent profit-sharing arrangement. He subsequently transferred these rights to Dhaval Devraj Jain, retaining 0.125 per cent profit while Jain held 4.875 per cent."
Further, the report said, "Dhaval Jain, along with his associate John States alias Pandey, developed a white-label betting platform and supplied it to Vishal Agnihotri for running 11Starss.in."
Another key player, "Mayur Padya alias Padya, a hawala operator, handled cash-based fund transfers and payments for the betting operations," officials added.