For years, Suresh Raina and Shikhar Dhawan stood as beacons of Indian cricket, celebrated for their explosive batting, crucial contributions in major tournaments, and inspiring journeys.
But now both these cricket legends are in the spotlight for all the wrong reasons.
ED is probing both the players in a major money laundering case and has attached their assets.
The Illegal betting money laundering case
The ED has attached the two ex-cricketers' assets on a provisional basis to the tune of ₹11.14 crores under the PMLA, 2002. The area they are investigating is illegal offshore betting operations that have a connection with the 1xBet online platform and its surrogate brands.
The assets that have been attached include mutual fund investments of around ₹6.64 crores made in the name of Suresh Raina and an immovable property worth ₹4.5 crores that is registered in the name of Shikhar Dhawan.
Law enforcement regards these holdings as "proceeds of crime" generated through the illegal betting activities.
Proceedings and allegations
The ED's probe is based on various first information reports (FIRs) filed by state police departments that complain about fake betting platform operators. The main accusation against Raina and Dhawan is that they "knowingly" signed endorsement contracts with foreign companies for the promotion of 1xBet and its surrogates while the platform was not authorized to be in operation in India.
It is furthered in the probe that the money for these promotional works was wired through foreign intermediaries who used layered transactions to hide the illegal origin of funds, which, as the report claims, were the proceeds of crime generated from the illegal betting network, a racket that is estimated to exceed ₹1,000 crore.
The financial structuring was allegedly designed to make the criminal proceeds appear as legitimate endorsement income.
Broader ED investigation
This investigation reveals that the problem is not only about two cricketers but also a widespread issue of celebrities who promote illegal online betting for profit.
The ED has recorded the statements and questioned other celebrities from the sports and entertainment industries,like former cricketers Yuvraj Singh and Robin Uthappa, actors like Sonu Sood, Urvashi Rautela, Mimi Chakraborty (ex-Trinamool Congress MP), and Ankush Hazra.
