The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has recently recorded the statement of Viacom18 officials in connection with FairPlay, a subsidiary app of Mahadev Online Book. ED's initiation of a PMLA case in January, based on a FIR from the Maharashtra Cyber Cell. The FIR was filed by a broadcasting company, alleging a staggering revenue loss of Rs. 100 crores.
ED probing company's contracts with celebrities
The ED is currently scrutinizing the contracts with celebrities for fairpay promotion and endorsement, payment modes, transactions,Hawala and company-related details involving allegedly substantial payments made to Actor Jacqueline Fernandez, Sanjay Dutt, Tamanna Bhatia, and Rapper Badshah to promote and endorse the FairPlay subsidiary app of the Mahadev betting app.
According to the sources, ED will soon summon the bollywood actors in this case to record their statement as a prosecution witness.
The ED's investigation revealed that promoters linked with the Mahadev betting app used funds from various shell companies to pay Bollywood celebrities for promoting and endorsing their app. The Maharashtra Cyber Cell has recorded statements from Patik Singh Sisodiya, also known as Badshah, as well as the manager of Sanjay Dutt and Jacqueline Fernandez. These statements were later shared with the Enforcement Directorate after it initiated an investigation.
Sanjay Dutt received Rs 25 lakh
During the investigation, it was revealed that actor Sanjay Dutt received a sum of Rs. 25 lakhs from the account of "Play Venture," a Singapore-based gaming company, for FairPlay promotion and endorsement on his Instagram page and social media. According to a statement given to the Cyber Cell, Sanjay Dutt's manager, Gaurav Dubey, stated that film producer Bunty Walia approached him for Sanjay Dutt regarding the FairPlay promotion and endorsement deal.
The Cyber Cell also recorded the statement of Bunty Walia, which was shared with the ED after the ED registered the Enforcement Case Information Report (ECIR).
Jacqueline Fernandez received significant money from Dubai
Actress Jacqueline Fernandez received a significant sum from Dubai-based Trim General Trading LLC for endorsing and promoting FairPlay. The company is primarily involved in import-export, dealing in various products including edible preparations, cereals, flour, starch, milk, dry fruits, and clothing accessories.The agency suspects that Trim General Trading LLC may be a front for money laundering activities related to a betting business empire of Mahadev subsidiary app Fairplay.
Rapper Badshah received money from the account of Lyukos Group FZF company, which is based in Melbourne, Australia. The Maharashtra Cyber Cell recorded his statement where he mentioned the contract and transaction details. According to ED official sources, during the investigation, it was revealed that this company is based in Dubai, and the Melbourne company is suspected to be a shell company of a subsidiary app of the Mahadev app promoter for covering up money laundering business.
Celebrities provided contract agreement documents to cyber cell
Actress Tamanna Bhatia, Amarya Dastur, and social media influencer Suhana Khan were also discovered to be promoting FairPlay, in addition to the aforementioned celebrities.Videos of the promotion and endorsement by celebrities are available on their social media platforms. All these celebrities provided the contract agreement document to the cyber cell.
The complaint viacom 18 asserted that the company possessed exclusive rights to broadcast IPL matches in 2023. However, the online betting app Fairplay allegedly displayed hoardings across Mumbai, broadcasting live telecasts of IPL 2023 without obtaining permission from the broadcasting company. Furthermore, apps were accused of accepting bets on the matches being played.
Fairplay, an alleged subsidiary app of the Mahadev app, gained attention due to endorsements by many Bollywood personalities. According to sources, more than 40 Bollywood celebrities are under scrutiny for promoting Fair play during the IPL 2023.
ED probing Hawala transactions
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) is investigating several suspicious transactions through hawala channels involving Bollywood celebrities for the promotion and endorsement of betting apps. In a supplementary chargesheet filed in December 2023 in the Mahadev Online Book case, the ED alleged that Mahadev Online Book and its sister concerns, namely Fairplay, Reddy Anna, Lotus 365, Laser Book, BetBook247, Gold365, and several other subsidiary apps, would have monthly earnings of Rs 450 crores at an average rate of Rs 3 lakh earnings per panel per month.
