Published: May 10, 2015, 10:32 PM (IST)
Edited: May 10, 2015, 10:32 PM (IST)
New Delhi: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Sunday conducted searches at multiple locations in and around Delhi in connection with its hawala and money laundering probe against some betting syndicates related to the latest Indian Premier League (IPL) matches. Sources said about four locations in Delhi and neighbouring Gurgaon were covered during the searches which are being conducted by the Ahmedabad office in Western state of Gujarat of the agency in coordination with their counterparts in New Delhi. READ: Nine arrested for betting on KKR-DD match
“The sleuths seized over hundred cell phones, hard drives, laptops, other computer peripherals and documents during the operation,” the sources said, adding two suspects were also questioned. They added the searches were “conducted on some suspects who acted as bookies during the recent Indian Premier League matches” held in the county. “The probe is being handled by the ED Ahmedabad office which is investigating the case for hawala and money laundering charges,” the sources said. READ: Three arrested for betting on CSK-RCB match
Some locations in Mumbai and Bangalore were also searched as part of Sunday’s operation, they said, adding the action was largely centralised in the national capital and its adjoining areas. On March 19 this year, the Ahmedabad office of the agency had claimed to have busted the alleged betting racket and arrested some bookies from a farmhouse on the outskirts of Vadodara city in Gujarat. Later, the probe agency arrested 13 others in connection with this illegal activity.
On March 26, the same office registered a money laundering case against two prime suspects and a few others in the Rs 4,000 crore alleged IPL betting racket. The accused had been charged under Section 418 (cheating), Section 419 (punishment for cheating), Section 420 (cheating and dishonestly inducing delivery of property), Section 467 (forgery of valuable security), Section 471 (using forged document as genuine) along with Section 120 (b) (criminal conspiracy) of the Indian Penal Code by the agency. Locations in Delhi’s Karol Bagh, Shastri Nagar and Gurgaon were searched in the day-long action, they said.
