Former Indian cricketer Suresh Raina appeared before the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Wednesday, August 13, in connection with a money laundering case against illegal online betting. According to a report in The Times of India, the summons were made in connection with 1xBet.1xBet is an online gambling company with its headquarters in Cyprus.
Raina was appointed the gaming ambassador by 1xBet in December last year. Sources within the ED confirmed that Raina was summoned due to his promotional endorsements associated with the app. Raina recorded his statements with the department under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). The agency is yet to determine the extent of involvement that the former CSK batter had with the company.
The ED has been on a spree of crackdowns against illegal betting cases. Last year, the department attached assets worth INR 337 crore of the accused related to IPL cricket matches. One of these crackdowns happened against the two directors of an online platform called Fairplay. The platform was accused of illegally broadcasting IPL matches and various online betting activities.
“The attached assets include demat account holdings, lands, flats and commercial warehouses located at Ajmer (Rajasthan), Kutch (Gujarat), Daman, Thane & Mumbai (Maharashtra) are worth 219.66cr of the online betting app Fairplay and its promoters,” ED said.
Indian Celebrities Who Have Been Questioned By The ED In Past
The ED has previously summoned former players like Harbhajan Singh and Yuvraj Singh for allegedly endorsing illegal online betting platforms like FairPlay, 1xBet, Lotus365, and Parimatch.
Movie stars like Urvashi Rautela, Sonu Sood, Rana Daggubati, and Prakash Raj have also appeared before the ED in the past in cases related to allegedly endorsing illegal online betting platforms.
In March this year, an FIR was filed at the Miyapur Police Station in Hyderabad against 25 celebrities and social media influencers following a complaint lodged by 32-year-old businessman Phanindra Sarma. The FIR named celebrities like Vijay Devarakonda, Manchu Lakshmi, Praneetha, Nidhi Agarwal, Ananya Nagella, Siri Hanumanthu, Sreemukhi, and Varshini Sounderajan, among others. They were accused of promoting illegal betting apps in violation of existing gambling laws.
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