The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has launched an investigation into certain private individuals and “unknown public servants” based in Delhi, Jodhpur, Jaipur, and Hyderabad, based on “reliable” information that a network of individuals involved in cricket betting are influencing the outcome of Indian Premier League (IPL) matches based on inputs received from Pakistan.
The accused allegedly ran a pan-India network to entice people to bet on the Indian Premier League.
On Friday, the central agency filed two criminal conspiracy, cheating, forgery of the Indian Penal Code, and anti-corruption cases in the matter.
“Based on information received from Pakistan, reliable information has been received about a network of individuals involved in cricket betting influencing the outcome of Indian Premier League (IPL) matches.” They are defrauding the general public by inducing them to bet on IPL matches under the guise of betting,” the agency stated in one of the First Information Reports (FIRs).
“In connivance with unknown bank officials, they have opened bank accounts (mule accounts) using fake identities and know your customer documents (ID&KYC) for this purpose.” “These bank accounts were opened using forged information, such as multiple dates of birth, and without due diligence by bank officials,” the report stated.
The agency also stated that a portion of the money received from the general public in India for betting was shared with their foreign associates via hawala transactions.
According to the CBI, the accused were in contact with a Pakistani national named Waqas Malik, whose phone number had already been obtained during the preliminary investigation.
Three people have been named in the agency’s first FIR: Dileep Kumar, Gurram Satish, and Gurram Vasu, and this network has been involved in betting since 2013, according to the agency. The CBI claims that the accused’s account contained transactions worth around ten crore rupees.
The central agency has named four people – Sajjan Singh, Prabhu Lal Meena, Ram Avtar, and Amit Kumar Sharma – as well as unknown government officials and private individuals who have been involved in IPL cricket betting since 2010. In the second case, the transactions are close to 1 crore.
Officials who did not want to be identified said they are investigating a larger conspiracy.
