Mumbai-based businessman held in IPL spot-fixing case

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Wednesday arrested a Mumbai-based businessman for allegedly aiding former ED joint director, JP Singh, in receiving bribe for

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Wednesday arrested a Mumbai-based businessman for allegedly aiding former ED joint director, JP Singh, in receiving bribe for favouring an accused in the Indian Premier League spot-fixing scandal in 2013.

The Enforcement Directorate on Wednesday arrested a Mumbai-based businessman for allegedly aiding former ED joint director, JP Singh, in receiving bribe for botching up the 2013 IPL spot-fixing probe. (HT File/Representational Image)

The accused, Bimal Ramgopal Agarwal, was arrested in Delhi under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).

In 2015, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) had arrested Singh, an Indian Revenue Service officer (batch of 2000), of the customs and excise wing, along with others – Sanjay Kumar (enforcement officer), Sonu Y Jalan, Dhruv Kumar Singh, Jayesh Thakkar, Chandresh Patel and Agarwal, alleging they had accepted huge bribes from the accused in the spot-fixing case to botch up the case.

“Following allegation of corruption against Singh and others, investigation under Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) was initiated, which revealed that Agarwal was in touch with him and had collected money on behalf of Singh for providing help in the investigation of cricket betting case registered at ED, Ahmedabad,” said an ED official.

ED stated that Agarwal and his other associates had accepted huge amount of bribes as quid pro quo for acts of omission and commission in connection with the investigation into the betting scandal. They had collected Rs3.25 crore from Delhi punters or bookies for providing protection in the ED investigation and used a hawala operator for transfer of money from Delhi to Mumbai and Mumbai to Lucknow.

Searches were also conducted at their premises and other suspected officers working with the ED, namely Singh, Kumar and others in Delhi, Ahmedabad, Mumbai and Lucknow.