NEW DELHI, Sept 16: Widening its probe into an alleged illegal online betting linked money laundering case, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) has summoned cricketers Robin Uthappa and Yuvraj Singh, and actor Sonu Sood for questioning, officials said Tuesday.
Uthappa (39), Singh (43) and Sood (52) have been asked to depose beginning next week at the agency’s headquarter investigation unit in Delhi and get their statements recorded under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) in a case linked to a platform named 1xBet, the officials said.
While Uthappa has been asked to depose on September 22, Singh has been called on September 23 followed by Sood on September 24, they said.
The federal probe agency has questioned former cricketers Suresh Raina and Shikhar Dhawan apart from former TMC MP and actor Mimi Chakraborty over the last few weeks as part of this investigation.
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Bengali actor Ankush Hazra (36) appeared before the ED on Tuesday on his scheduled summons in the case, while actor Urvashi Rautela (31), the India brand ambassador of 1xBet, is yet to appear on her given date for Tuesday, the sources said.
The probe pertains to the operations of the 1xBet betting app as part of ED’s wider probe against such platforms on allegations of duping numerous people and investors worth crores of rupees and reportedly evading a huge amount of direct and indirect taxes.
According to the Curacao registered company, 1xBet is a globally recognised bookmaker with 18 years in the betting industry. The brand’s customers can place bets on thousands of sporting events, with the company’s website and app available in 70 languages, according to the company.
An email sent by PTI seeking a response from 1xBet on the ED probe remained unanswered till the filing of this report.
More sportspersons, movie actors, online influencers and celebrities are expected to be questioned by the agency in the coming days as part of this probe. The ED’s line of investigation, according to the sources, is to know from the celebrities as to how they were contacted by the said betting company seeking their endorsement, the nodal person(s) for contact in India, the mode of payment (cash through hawala or banking channel) and place of the payment (in India or abroad) etc. (PTI)
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