The Enforcement Directorate (ED) summoned former India cricketer Shikhar Dhawan on Thursday. He was called for questioning in connection with a money laundering probe. This probe is linked to an illegal betting app.
The central probe agency will record Shikhar Dhawan’s statement under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). This is part of an investigation linked to an “illegal” betting app named 1xBet.
The 39-year-old former India cricketer is understood to have been linked to the app through certain endorsements. The ED wants to understand his links with this app during the questioning.
The probe agency is investigating multiple such cases involving illegal betting apps. These apps are alleged to have duped numerous people and investors worth crores of rupees. They have also evaded a huge amount of taxes.
The Union government has banned real-money online gaming by bringing a legislation recently.
Also read: Shikhar Dhawan Launches Autobiography: Cricket, Life & More
Suresh Raina was questioned by ED earlier
The ED had questioned Suresh Raina, 38, for more than eight hours. The federal probe agency recorded Raina’s statement under the PMLA. This was part of its investigation linked to a sports betting application named 1xBet, the sources said.
Raina played 18 Tests, 226 ODIs, and 78 T20Is for India. It is understood that he has been linked to the app through certain endorsements. The agency recently called representatives of Google and Meta for questioning as part of its probe. It also conducted multi-state searches on Tuesday in connection with a similar investigation against an online betting app named Parimatch.
The agency is probing multiple such cases involving illegal betting apps. These apps allegedly duped numerous people and investors worth crores of rupees. They also evaded a huge amount of taxes. Market analysis firms and probe agencies estimate there were about 22 crore Indian users of various online betting apps. Half of these, about 11 crore, were regular users.
The online betting app market in India is worth over USD 100 billion. Experts noted that it was growing at a rate of 30 percent.
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