Delhi HC allows ED to attach illegal betting money in ₹2,400 crore scam

The court issued the order while dismissing petitions challenging the ED's provisional attachment orders issued more than a decade ago in an alleged multi-crore international cricket betting scam

The Delhi High Court on Monday held that the Enforcement Directorate (ED) can treat money and properties derived from cricket betting using forgery, cheating or criminal conspiracy as proceeds of crime in a money laundering case, the Mint reported.

 

A Bench of Justices Anil Kshetarpal and Harish Vaidyanathan Shankar issued the order while dismissing petitions challenging the probe agency’s provisional attachment orders issued more than a decade ago in an alleged multi-crore international cricket betting scam.

 

In September 2015, the ED provisionally attached movable and immovable assets worth around ₹20 crore belonging to the accused, followed by a show-cause notice the next month under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). The accused later contested both actions before the high court. 

 

"For instance, if a person acquires any immovable property through acts of forgery, cheating and criminal conspiracy and thereafter utilises such property for a downstream activity, such as conducting an unlicensed real-estate business which is not a scheduled offence, the proceeds generated from the latter activity nonetheless constitute 'proceeds of crime' under Section 2(1) (u) of the PMLA," the order stated.

 

It further added that it is because the taint attached to the property at its very inception, originated from a criminal activity relatable to a scheduled offence, persists throughout its subsequent use.

 

What is the case about?

The order noted that the ED’s action stems from an alleged international cricket betting and hawala racket run through the United Kingdom-based website Betfair.com. According to the agency, the operation was being managed from a farmhouse near Vadodara by Girish ‘Tommy’ Patel and his associates.

 

Acting on intelligence inputs, the ED carried out searches in May 2015 at the farmhouse and at the homes of key associates, recovering cash, digital records and documents linked to illegal betting and unauthorised money transfers, the order noted. The searches also uncovered SIM cards procured using forged identities, prompting the Vadodara Police to register an FIR for cheating, forgery and criminal conspiracy.

 

Proceedings under the PMLA were launched soon after, with investigators alleging that the network generated nearly ₹2,400 crore in betting proceeds between December 2014 and March 2015. Of this, ₹60 crore was allegedly settled with the petitioner, who is accused of acting as a conduit by purchasing “Super Master” betting login IDs through illegal channels and distributing them across India.

 

The ED subsequently issued multiple provisional attachment orders, freezing around ₹20 crore in assets said to be linked to the proceeds of crime.