The Enforcement Directorate (ED) is currently investigating a money laundering case linked to a betting app called FairPlay. This app is accused of illegally streaming IPL cricket matches. According to the ED’s report, four companies helped FairPlay make over ₹13,000 crore in international payments by pretending they were for real imports.
One payment service, Betty Finserve, processed ₹3,000 crore for FairPlay and made ₹30 crore in commissions, which the ED has now taken. The investigation aims to uncover how these companies are involved in money problems.
The report reveals that Krish Shah, who started FairPlay, sold 70% of it to Saurabh Chandrakar from the Mahadev Online Book. After that, Shah started a new app for FairPlay, while Chandrakar took charge of the payments.
This case began after Viacom18 filed a complaint against FairPlay and seven other companies, saying they were illegally streaming IPL matches, which hurt their business. The ED has charged 11 people related to the case, including the detained brothers Chirag and Chintan Shah, Krish Shah, and Siddhant Iyer, also known as Joe Paul.
Notably, FairPlay does not have offices in India and has not registered for local taxes. Celebrities like singer Badshah and actors Sanjay Dutt, Ranbir Kapoor, and Jacqueline Fernandez promoted FairPlay in India. They had contracts with both foreign and Indian companies.
FairPlay cleverly used these celebrities to look trustworthy and attract many users. By operating outside of India, FairPlay made it hard for officials to take action against it. One of the suspects mentioned that his company got ₹45 crore from FairPlay’s payment partners, which went to various celebrities and influencers.
The ED found four companies—Flawless Pharma, Aaquries Global Industries, Remedium Lifecare, and MEDEC Medicare—that transferred ₹4,000 crore overseas in a short time. These payments were made under false pretenses, adding up to ₹13,000 crore sent abroad.
Betty Finserve, led by Rahul Kumar Verma, helped FairPlay transfer money to its clients. Truefund Innovation India acted as an illegal middleman, overseeing the money collected by FairPlay. In 2020, Krish Shah set up Fanq Gaming in Mumbai to explore online gaming, but to avoid strict Indian laws, he moved operations to FairPlay in Curacao and opened other companies in places like Dubai and Malta.
The ED noted that Siddhant Paul, a friend of Krish Shah, is crucial in FairPlay’s money operations. He manages money collection and accounting for the app. Paul also created a network of fake bank accounts to handle money made from online gaming and betting.
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