The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Wednesday carried our searches at 19 locations in Mumbai and Pune to probe a money laundering case against Fairplay Sport LLC which was allegedly involved in illegal broadcasting of cricket matches and various online betting activities, including results of Lok Sabha Elections 2024.
During the search operations, various incriminating documents, digital devices, cash, bank funds, demat account holdings and luxury watches to the tune of about ₹8 crore were seized, the ED said.
The agency said it initiated the investigation on the basis of FIR registered by Nodal Cyber Police of Mumbai on a complaint filed by Viacom 18 Media Private Ltd under various sections of the Indian Penal Code, IT Act and Copyright Act against M/s Fairplay Sport LLC and others for causing loss of revenue of more than ₹100 core.
According to the ED probe, Fairplay made agreements through foreign based entities in Dubai and Curacao with Indian agencies representing celebrities. “It was found that no due diligence was performed by Indian agencies regarding Fairplay before executing the agreements for its promotion,” the ED said in a statement.
Fairplay, accused the agency, collected funds through various bogus/shell bank accounts which in turn were layered through complex web of bank accounts of shell entities and were then accumulated in pharma companies involved in bogus billing. “Investigation further revealed that funds from these companies have been siphoned off to overseas shell entities based out of Hong Kong SAR, China and Dubai. More than 400 bank accounts of shell entities were found to be used for these purposes which are under examination along with trailing/utilisation of funds collected from public by Fairplay,” the agency charged.