-
ALSO READ
ED raids house of Punjab CM's nephew in illegal sand mining case
Mushrooming illegal colonies menace to urban development, says SC
ED makes third arrest in Bengal coal mining money laundering case
ED grills ex-Punjab CM Channi for over six hours in money laundering case
ED attaches assets of Tamil Nadu minister in money laundering case
-
The ED on Wednesday said it has filed a charge sheet before a Goa court in a money laundering case linked to placing of illegal bids through an online poker gaming app.
The prosecution complaint has been filed before a special Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) court in Mapusa on June 3 against Kolkata residents and accused in the case, Hardeep Singh and Ankur Khanna.
They were arrested by the agency after raids were conducted against them and some other club managers/agents located in Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata and Goa in April.
The court took cognisance of the charge sheet on June 17 and it has issued notices to the accused, the Enforcement Directorate said in a statement.
The money laundering case stems from a Goa Police FIR filed under various sections of the IPC and the Goa, Daman and Diu Public Gambling Act of 1976 and section 66-D of the Information Technology Act.
The IT Act section talks about punishment for cheating by personation by using computer resource.
The police FIR pressed the charges for "illegal gaming activities and siphoning huge money through secret networks leading to loss to the government exchequer."
"Hardeep Singh and Rahul Khanna were operating a union namely 'mini-India' on PP Poker online gaming app.
"Under their union, it is seen that around 25-30 clubs were being operated by different individuals," the ED said.
Through these clubs, individual players are invited through WhatsApp chats for placing "illegal bets" through the poker gaming app, it alleged.
"It is seen that commissions were generated at the rate of 5-10 per cent by the said clubs on each table.
"The settlement of the commission and the betting amount is done illegally through hawala operators in cash or through anonymous crypto accounts with each individual player and union head by their respective club managers," the agency said.
Both the accused, it said, had also invested proceeds of crime in the form of crypto accounts which were "traced" by the ED.
(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Dear Reader,
Business Standard has always strived hard to provide up-to-date information and commentary on developments that are of interest to you and have wider political and economic implications for the country and the world. Your encouragement and constant feedback on how to improve our offering have only made our resolve and commitment to these ideals stronger. Even during these difficult times arising out of Covid-19, we continue to remain committed to keeping you informed and updated with credible news, authoritative views and incisive commentary on topical issues of relevance.
We, however, have a request.
As we battle the economic impact of the pandemic, we need your support even more, so that we can continue to offer you more quality content. Our subscription model has seen an encouraging response from many of you, who have subscribed to our online content. More subscription to our online content can only help us achieve the goals of offering you even better and more relevant content. We believe in free, fair and credible journalism. Your support through more subscriptions can help us practise the journalism to which we are committed.
Support quality journalism and subscribe to Business Standard.
Digital Editor
RECOMMENDED FOR YOU