New Delhi: 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 established a pan-India network to entice people to wager 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 subject.
“Reliable information has been received about a network of individuals involved in cricket betting influencing the outcome of Indian Premier League (IPL) matches based on inputs received from Pakistan. In the garb of betting related to IPL matches, they are cheating the general public by inducing them to bet,” the agency said in one of the First Information Reports (FIRs).
“For this purpose, they have opened bank accounts (mule accounts) using fake identities and know your customer documents (ID&KYC) in connivance with the unknown bank officials. These bank accounts have been opened by submitting forged details such as multiple dates of birth and without due diligence done by the bank officials,” it said.
The agency further stated that a portion of the money acquired from the general population in India for betting was split with their international colleagues via hawala operations.
According to the CBI, the accused were in contact with a Pakistani national named Waqas Malik, whose phone number had already been retrieved during the preliminary investigation.
Three people have been named in the agency’s initial 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 had transactions worth around ten crore rupees.
In the second FIR, also registered on Friday, the central agency has named four people – Sajjan Singh, Prabhu Lal Meena, Ram Avtar and Amit Kumar Sharma apart from unknown government officials and private persons who were active in IPL cricket betting since 2010. The transactions involved in the second case are close to ₹1 crore.
Officials who didn’t want to be named said they are looking into a larger conspiracy in the matter.
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