ED records statement of Mallika Sherawat, TV actor in betting website case

New Delhi: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has recorded the statement of actor Mallika Sherawat and a TV actor in a money laundering probe against a betting website, owned by some Pakistani nationals, that also "illegally" broadcast Men's T20 World Cup matches, official sources said on Wednesday.

The federal agency had undertaken fresh searches in this case last week in Delhi, Mumbai, and Pune as part of the probe against portal 'Magicwin'.

Sources said the agency had asked Sherawat and TV actor Pooja Banerjee to respond to some queries in this case by email or through an official representative.

They said 48-year-old Sherawat submitted her statement to the ED's Ahmedabad office last week by sending her replies through an authorised representative and email while Banerjee deposed before the investigation officer (IO) and got her statement recorded under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).

Sherawat has acted in a number of Hindi movies while Banerjee has played a role in the TV series 'Kasautii Zindagii Kay'.

The two are understood to have undertaken some promotion activity related to 'Magicwin' and they are, prima facie, not found to be an accused in the case, as per the sources.

The agency is expected to question some more actors and celebrities in this case soon.

The ED, in a statement issued on Tuesday, said a "launch party" held for the portal, where several "B-town celebrities" attended and endorsed 'Magicwin', is under its scanner.

These celebrities also did video and photo shoots for Magicwin and posted them on their social media accounts for its "promotion". Advertisements were also done through hoardings out of home (OOH) in various parts of India including Gujarat and Maharashtra, the agency said.

The money laundering case is based on an FIR registered by the cybercrime unit of the Ahmedabad Police in Gujarat.

Magicwin, according to the agency, is a "betting" website "guised" as a gaming portal that is "actually owned" by Pakistani nationals.

The operations of this website are mostly handled by Indian nationals working or settled in Dubai, it said.

"The betting games being shown on the website are originally played in the Philippines and other countries which allow betting activities," it said.

However, as per the investigation, the same is "re-telecast" on Magicwin's website by copying the APIs (application programming interface) of the original games.

The agency said betting activities like deposits, placing of betting and withdrawal are "controlled" by the "owners" of Magicwin.

The ED claimed its probe found that the money, deposited in the bank accounts by the players/betters, was "diverted" through layers of "shell and mule" bank accounts and further the profit part of the owners was invested in crypto assets, withdrawn in cash or sent to Dubai through Hawala channels.

The winning amounts of the players/betters were transferred to their bank accounts through merchant accounts of various shell companies maintained with payment gateways. These amounts were also transferred to the player's bank account through domestic money transfer, it said.

The profits generated by these betting websites are more than 50 per cent of the total deposits made by the players, it said.