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New Delhi [India] September 22 (ANI) The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has attached assets worth Rs 307.16 crore under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002, as part of the ongoing probe in the case of "Fairplay", which is involved in illegal broadcasting and online betting activities, the agency said on Monday.
Provisionally attached assets include movable assets in the form of bank balances and immovable assets in the form of lands, villas, and flats located in Dubai (UAE). ED initiated a money laundering investigation based on an FIR registered by Viacom18 Media Pvt Limited with the Nodal Cyber Police, Mumbai, against Fairplay and others for offences under various Sections of the IPC, 1860, the Information Technology Act, 2000 and the Copyright Act, for causing loss of revenue of more than Rs 100 crore. Subsequently, the agency said in a statement that many other FIRs against various entities, including Fairplay and its associates, for illegal online betting were tagged together for investigation. As per the investigation carried out to date, EF said, Proceeds of Crime (POC) in this case exceed several hundred crores, keeping in view the scale of operations and movement of funds abroad through trade-based money laundering. ED investigation revealed that Krish Laxmichand Shah (the key person behind Fairplay) has registered various companies, such as Play Ventures NV and Dutch Antilles Management NV at Curacao, Fair Play Sport LLC and Fairplay Management DMCC at Dubai and Play Ventures Holding Limited at Malta, for the operations of Fairplay. "Investigation revealed that Krish L Shah is primarily operating Fairplay from Dubai with the help of his associates, such as Anil Kumar Dadlani and others," said the ED. "Krish L Shah, his family members and his associates have acquired various movable and immovable assets either in their names or in the name of their relatives and related entities in the UAE." Earlier, ED conducted search operations in this case on June 12, 2024, August 27, 2024, September 27, 2024 and October 25, 2024 resulting in seizure and freezing of various movable assets along with various other incriminating documents and digital devices and ED also issued Provisional Attachment Orders on November 22, 2024, December 26, 2024 and January 15, 2025 in this case. Further, the ED arrested two key persons, Chintan Shah and Chirag Shah, in this case on February 12, 2025. ED also filed a Prosecution Complaint before the Hon'ble Special PMLA Court, Mumbai, on April 1, 2025, for which cognisance was taken on April 25, 2025. Total attachment and seizure in this case till date amounts to Rs 651.31 crore. (ANI)
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