ED has recorded the statements of celebrities including Robin Uthapa, Yuvraj Singh and Tollywood actors in the PMLA case it had registered to probe menace of menace of illegal betting apps.
Enforcement Directorate, Wednesday, recorded the statement of Bollywood actor Sonu Sood in the money laundering case involving endorsement and promotion of illegal betting app 1xbet.
Earlier in the week ED had recorded the statements of celebrities including Robin Uthapa, Yuvraj Singh and Anveshi Jain in the PMLA case.
In January the MHA granted FCRA (Foreign Contribution Regulation Act) license to Bollywood actor Sonu Sood’s NGO – Sood Charity Foundation.
As per FCRA guidelines the NGO is working in the field of economics education and social. Organisations that get FCRA licenses can receive and utilise foreign funds for five years.
Bollywood actor Sonu Sood is known for his charity work during COVID pandemic 2020. However, In September 2021, the Income Tax department searched multiple premises linked to Sonu Sood and in a statement without naming the actor has then said, ” .. the premises of an actor and his associates were searched.
The modus operandi of the actor was to route his income into unsecured loans from bogus entities. The total amount of tax evaded was around Rs 20 crore.” IT department had also accused him of raising donations by violating FCRA guidelines. Sonu Sood had then denied all allegations.
Since June this year the federal probe agency has stepped up its probe and questioned several top actors and former cricketers for brand endorsements of illegal betting apps “Our investigation showed that apps like 1xBet, FairPlay, Parimatch, Lotus365 were heavily promoted by celebrities. 1xbet is promoted by Harbhajan Singh, Yuvraj Singh, Sonu Sood, Suresh Raina, Urvashi Rautela and several social media influencers despite bans,” said officials.
On Monday the probe agency also provisionally attached assets to the tune of Rs 307.16 crore in the ongoing probe against Fairplay “Fairplay is involved in illegal broadcast and online betting. Attached assets include bank balances, land, villas and flats located in Dubai,” said ED in a statement.
ED case stems from an FIR filed by Mumbai Police alleging Viacom suffered a revenue loss of Rs 100 crore.
ED probe revealed that Krish Laxmichand Shah had registered several companies including M/s Play Ventures M/s Dutch Antilles in Dubai Curacao and Malta to run Fairplay. Total attachment against Fairplay stands at Rs 651 crores.
Federal probe agency has carried out extensive investigations to highlight the menace of illegal betting.”
