Illegal IPL streaming: Fairplay hired celebs as brand ambassador for mainstream acceptance, says ED

Mumbai: The Fairplay website allegedly indulged in illegal broadcast of IPL matches in 2023, appointed "top-line celebrities" like Ranbir Kapoor and Sanjay Dutt as brand ambassadors to "create a perception of legitimacy and mainstream acceptance", the ED has said in its chargesheet.

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) recently filed the chargesheet against 11 accused, including arrested persons -- Chirag Shah and Chintan Shah -- and firms linked to the scam.

The website is accused of illegally livestreaming the Indian Premier League (IPL) matches and causing "huge" commercial loss to Viacom18, which had the broadcast rights.

Special judge for cases under the Prevention of the Money Laundering Act (PMLA) A C Daga took cognisance of the chargesheet on Friday.

The money laundering case, being probed by ED, stems from an FIR of the Mumbai police cyber cell which was filed on the complaint of Viacom18 Media Pvt Limited against Fairplay Sport LLC and others for causing loss of revenue.

Further, nine more FIRs filed across the country were tagged with the ED's case.

The federal probe agency claimed that as per these FIRs, the total proceeds of crime in the case was more than Rs 100 crore.

As per the federal probe agency, the arrested accused duo Chirag and Chintan Shah used to take care of technological and software development aspects of Fairplay.

"Fairplay adopted a marketing strategy wherein top-line celebrities were appointed as brand ambassadors, it created a perception of legitimacy and mainstream acceptance, which attracted a large number of users," the chargesheet said.

The Mumbai Cyber Police found in its investigation that various top-of-the-line Indian celebrities advertised and promoted the Fairplay app in India.

"Celebrity actors - Sanjay Dutt, Jacqueline Fernadez, Ranbir Kapoor, Varun Dhawan, Shraddha Kapoor, Kiara Advani- and sportspersons - Saina Nehwal, Mary Kom, Mithali Raj, and two South Africa cricketers AB de Villiers and Graeme Smith - and singer Badshah," the chargesheet said.

It said that these celebrities advertised and promoted the app by executing agreements with the overseas entities and Indian companies and firms.

As per the chargesheet, the website also ran extensive digital marketing campaigns across social media platforms, YouTube, Facebook, Instagram and other social media platforms.

Social media influencers and affiliate marketers were employed to promote Fairplay, targeting younger demographics and luring them into sports betting and online gaming, it stated.

Further, the websites sponsored various local and international sporting events, further enhancing its reach and appeal to potential users, the chargesheet said.

The probe found that Krish Laxmichand Shah (the key person behind Fairplay and absconding accused) registered various companies, such as Play Ventures N V and Dutch Antilles Management N V at Curacao, Fair Play Sport LLC and Fairplay Management DMCC in Dubai and Play Ventures Holding Limited at Malta for the operations of 'Fairplay'.

Fairplay is primarily being operated by Shah from Dubai with the help of his associates such as Siddhant Iyer alias Joe Paul (also absconding), who looked after the financial aspects of Fairplay.

The charge-sheet said that the offshore entities were established to "obscure the true ownership of Fairplay".

These offshore entities made it difficult for Indian authorities to trace the ultimate beneficial owners and true operators of Fairplay, it said.

The prosecution complaint mentioned that "by operating from outside of India, Fairplay made it challenging for Indian regulators to take action against the platform".

The ED said that the proceeds of crime amounting to more than Rs 4,000 crore were sent abroad in the guise of illegal/ bogus import of goods. These amounts were routed to multiple bank accounts and further part remitted back to India in the accounts of the accused persons and related entities.

The proceeds of crimes were further invested in India to purchase immovable and movable assets, the ED said.

Viacom18 Media Pvt Limited has obtained various media rights for the cricket event IPL, including rights for the Indian sub-continent and overseas territories.

The company has made substantial investment in acquiring the licence for the media rights, which underscores the commercial value and importance of the vent.

The chargesheet said that Fairplay Sport had in 2023 published advertisements across newspapers, digital media and other platforms promoting websites of www.fairplay.co.in as a destination to "Watch IPL for free" despite Viacom18 having sole and exclusive license for IPL rights.

Through these advertisements, the website attempted to divert the consumers to its platform by misleading the public into believing it was licensed for viewing the IPL matches, the chargesheet said.

The same has resulted in huge commercial loss to Viacom18 and wrongful gains to Fairplay, Fairplay Sport LLC, it said.

The chargesheet said that Viacom18 Media Pvt Limited, reported illegal online live streaming of IPL matches.

However on perusal of the website, it was gathered that Fairplay is illegally involved in various online betting activities, in tennis, soccer, table-tennis, badminton and other games, the chargesheet alleged.

Fairplay was also providing a platform of online betting on the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, it mentioned.

The ED has said that Krish Shah and lyer have absconded from India and are currently residing in Dubai.