ED questions actor Urvashi Rautela in online betting case

New Delhi, Sep 30 (PTI) The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Tuesday questioned actor and model Urvashi Rautela in a money laundering case linked to an online betting and gaming platform named 1xbet, official sources said.

The 31-year-old is the India ambassador of the platform, registered in the Caribbean island of Curacao.

The federal probe agency has recorded her statement under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), the sources said.

The ED has questioned cricketers such as Yuvraj Singh, Suresh Raina, Robin Uthappa and Shikhar Dhawan, apart from actors Sonu Sood, Mimi Chakraborty (a former TMC MP) and Ankush Hazra (Bengali cinema), as part of this investigation over the last few weeks.

Some online influencers have also been questioned.

The agency is also expected to attach assets worth crores of rupees of some sportspersons and actors under the anti-money laundering law as part of the probe.

The investigation into the case related to the portal 1xBet found that some of these celebrities utilised the endorsement fee paid to them for acquiring a variety of assets, sources said. The assets qualified as "proceeds of crime" under the anti-money laundering law.

According to the Curacao-registered 1xBet, it is a globally recognised bookmaker with 18 years in the betting industry.

Customers can place bets on thousands of sporting events, with the company's website and app available in 70 languages, according to information available on its website.

The Union government recently banned real-money online gaming in India by bringing in legislation.

The agency's line of investigation, according to sources, is to know from the celebrities as to how they were contacted by the said betting company seeking their endorsement, the nodal person(s) for contact in India, the mode of payment (cash through hawala or banking channel) and the place of the payment (in India or abroad).

The agency, while recording the statements of the cricketers and actors, is understood to be asking them if they knew that online betting and gaming were illegal in India, sources said.

It has also asked them to furnish a copy of their contracts and all relevant email and paper documentation they have created with 1xBet, they added.

According to estimates by market analysis firms and probe agencies conducted before the government ban, there are approximately 22 crore Indian users on various online betting apps. Of these, half are regular users. PTI NES RHL