The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Thursday said it has attached assets worth Rs. 11.14 crore of former cricketers Shikhar Dhawan and Suresh Raina as part of a money-laundering probe linked to an alleged illegal betting site.
A provisional order has been issued under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) to attach a commercial land in Delhi of Dhawan (39) worth Rs. 4.5 crore and a mutual fund of Raina (38) worth Rs. 6.64 crore in the case against online betting site 1xBet, the federal agency said.
The ED’s probe has found that the former cricketers “knowingly” entered into endorsement agreements with foreign entities for the promotion of 1xBet and its surrogates.
“These endorsements were made in return for payments routed through foreign entities to conceal the illicit origin of the funds, which are linked to proceeds of crime generated from illegal betting activities,” the agency alleged in a statement.
There were no immediate comments from the two former cricketers. Dhawan announced his retirement from all forms of cricket in August, while Raina hung his boots in 2020.
According to the ED, “ 1xBet operated in India without authorisation and used surrogate branding and advertisements to target Indian users through social media, online videos and print media. Payments for endorsements were structured through layered transactions using foreign intermediaries to disguise the illegal source of funds.”
The probe has found that 1xBet was “facilitating” betting and gambling for Indian users by collecting money through various mule accounts. The ED has alleged that merchants were onboarded on these gateways “without” any KYC verification.
“On verification of profiles of these merchants, it is seen that the entities declared business activities that did not match their transaction patterns, indicating laundering of funds exceeding Rs. 1000 crore,” the agency said.
The ED also cautioned people against indulging in online betting and gambling.
The Centre, a few months ago, brought a law to ban real-money online gaming in India.
Apart from Dhawan and Raina, the ED has questioned sporting icons, such as Yuvraj Singh and Robin Uthappa, actors Sonu Sood, Urvashi Rautela (the Indian brand ambassador for 1xBet), Mimi Chakraborty (a former Trinamool Congress MP) and Ankush Hazra (Bengali actor) as part of the investigation.
(With inputs from PTI)
Published on Nov 06, 2025