Mumbai’s Enforcement Directorate (ED) has ramped up its crackdown on illegal online betting. On Friday, the agency’s Mumbai team attached properties and assets worth Rs 307.16 crore in Dubai, linked to the Fairplay platform. This latest move brings the total value of seized and attached items in the case to Rs 651.31 crore so far.
The new attachments include bank balances, lands, villas, and flats in the UAE. Officials took this step under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002, as they dig deeper into Fairplay’s alleged illegal broadcasting of cricket matches and IPL games, plus its online betting operations.
The probe kicked off earlier this year after Mumbai’s Nodal Cyber Police filed an FIR based on a complaint from a media company. That complaint accused Fairplay and its partners of pirating cricket and IPL broadcasts while running unauthorized betting rings. These activities have already cost legitimate businesses over Rs 100 crore in lost revenue. The case involves charges under the Indian Penal Code, the Information Technology Act of 2000, and the Copyright Act of 1957.
Back in February, ED arrested two key figures: Chirag Shah and Chintan Shah. Investigators say the brothers ran the show behind Fairplay by offering technical support and operations through their firms—Wohlig Transformations Private Limited in India and Wohlig Transformation FZE LLC in Dubai.
The ED didn’t stop there. Last year, they carried out search operations in June, August, September, and October. Those raids uncovered incriminating documents, digital devices, and movable assets. They also hit multiple spots in Maharashtra tied to betting on IPL matches and the Lok Sabha elections, grabbing assets worth more than Rs 8 crore.
In one big sweep, ED teams targeted 19 locations in Mumbai and Pune, zeroing in on Fairplay’s role in wagering on election results and streaming IPL games without permission. Provisional attachment orders followed on November 22, 2024, December 26, 2024, and January 15, 2025, as the illegal betting probe continues to unfold.
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