Last Updated:
Cricketer Shikhar Dhawan has been summoned by the Enforcement Directorate in connection with the promotion of betting platform 1xBet.
Shikhar Dhawan on the field during the ICC Champions Trophy match (Photo: PTI)
Cricketer Shikhar Dhawan has been summoned by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) for questioning in an alleged illegal betting app-linked money laundering case.
According to officials, the probe relates to 1xBet, an online betting platform, which Dhawan has allegedly been promoting on social media.
The ED has now asked the cricketer to appear and join the investigation to clarify his role in the promotional activities.
The federal probe agency will record his statement under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) as part of the investigation, it was known.
The 39-year-old former India cricketer is understood to have been linked to the app through certain endorsements, according to news agency PTI.
The agency is probing multiple such cases involving illegal betting apps that are alleged to have duped numerous people and investors worth crores of rupees or have evaded a huge amount of taxes.
Since last year, multiple Bollywood and South Indian film stars and cricketers have been under the scanner for allegedly promoting illegal betting apps.
The list includes Vijay Deverakonda, Rana Daggubati, Prakash Raj, Harbhajan Singh, Urvashi Rautela, and Suresh Raina.
Last month, former cricketer Suresh Raina was questioned in this case by the federal probe agency.
Last June, multiple celebrities, including Suresh-Harbhajan, recorded their statements with the central investigation agency.
The government has banned real-money online gaming by introducing a legislation recently.
On Wednesday night, the Enforcement Directorate alleged that online betting sites “operated” by arrested Karnataka Congress MLA KC Veerendra collected funds worth more than Rs 2,000 crore in a short span of time.
It also claimed that Veerendra, the “prime accused” in a case linked to alleged cheating of the public through illegal online betting, and his associates in Dubai were operating several gaming websites by using various gateways and fintech service providers for layering of funds and for masking their “illicit” activities as genuine e-commerce businesses.
The federal probe agency had arrested the 50-year-old Chitradurga MLA late last month from Sikkim, where he had gone on a business trip to lease a casino. He is currently in ED custody.
ALSO READ | Bengali Actor Ankush Hazra Summoned By ED In Connection To Illegal Betting Apps Case
Vani Mehrotra is the Deputy News Editor at News18.com. She has nearly 10 years of experience in both national and international news and has previously worked on multiple desks.
Vani Mehrotra is the Deputy News Editor at News18.com. She has nearly 10 years of experience in both national and international news and has previously worked on multiple desks.
Read More
