SRINAGAR: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Friday provisionally attached movable and immovable assets worth Rs 7.9 crore belonging to Indian cricketers Yuvraj Singh and Robin Uthhapa, actors Sonu Sood and Urvashi Rautela, and former Trinamool Congress MP Mimi Chakraborty, in connection with a money laundering probe linked to an illegal online betting application, The Hindu reported.
Official sources said the case relates to an offshore betting platform and involves suspected proceeds of crime exceeding Rs 1,000 crore. Properties linked to actor Neha Sharma, the mother of model Urvashi Rautela, and Bengali actor Ankush Hazra have also been attached as part of the investigation.
According to The Hindu and The Indian Express, the ED launched the probe on the basis of multiple FIRs registered by various State police agencies against the operators of the illegal offshore betting platform 1xBet. The agency said its investigation revealed that 1xBet and its surrogate brands — including 1xBat and 1xbat Sporting Lines — were engaged in promoting and facilitating unlawful online betting and gambling activities across India.
The attached assets include properties worth about Rs 2.5 crore linked to Yuvraj Singh, around Rs 1 crore belonging to Sonu Sood, Rs 59 lakh of Mimi Chakraborty, Rs 8.26 lakh of Robin Uthhapa, Rs 1.26 crore of Neha Sharma, Rs 47 lakh of Ankush Hazra, and assets valued at Rs 2.02 crore belonging to Urvashi Rautela’s mother, sources said.
In a statement, the ED alleged that the celebrities had knowingly entered into endorsement agreements with foreign entities to promote 1xBet through surrogate platforms. The payments for these endorsements, it said, were routed through overseas entities to conceal their illicit origin and were linked to proceeds generated from illegal betting operations.
