Former Indian cricketer Robin Uthappa on Monday arrived at the ED headquarters after being summoned in connection with endorsing the 1XBet app. He appeared before the federal agency for questioning in a money laundering case linked to an online betting app, officials said, reported PTI. The 39-year-old former cricketer reached the agency’s office at around 11 am. The agency will question him and record his statement under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) in a case linked to a platform named 1xBet, the officials added.
Several cricketers were previously questioned by the ED including Suresh Raina and Shikhar Dhawan apart from former TMC MP and actor Mimi Chakraborty and Bengali actor Ankush Hazra over the last few weeks as part of the probe. Former cricketer Yuvraj Singh and actor Sonu Sood have also been summoned for Tuesday and Wednesday respectively by the ED in the same case.
What is the online betting app case?
The case is linked to the operations of the 1xBet betting app as part which ED is probing after multiple allegations of duping numerous people and investors worth crores of rupees surfaced.
According to the Curacao registered company, 1xBet is a globally recognised bookmaker with 18 years in the betting industry, reported PTI. The website of the company states that its customers can place bets on thousands of sporting events, as both the website and app are available in 70 languages.
What is ED probing?
The ED’s line of investigation while questioning the celebrities and sports persons is to know 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.
According to reports, the agency is said to have asked them if they knew that online betting and gaming was illegal in India. It has also asked them to furnish a copy of their contracts and all relevant email and paper documentation made by them with 1xBet.
It is also trying to find if the money they received can be categorised as the “proceeds of crime” under the PMLA, as per the sources.
This comes days after the Union government recently banned real money online gaming in India by bringing a legislation.