2 accused sent to ED custody in online betting case
Mumbai: Chirag Shah and Chintan Shah have been placed under remand in the custody of the Enforcement Directorate (ED) till today, February 15, on suspicion of operating unlawful internet betting businesses and transmitting cricket events using the “Fairplay” platform.
The two were taken into custody by the ED on February 12 after an inquiry was started by a First Information Report (FIR) submitted by Viacom18 Media Pvt Ltd, which claimed that Fairplay’s illegal operations had caused a revenue loss of more than Rs 100 crore.
On February 13, the pair appeared before Mumbai’s Special Court under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
The ED claims that the inquiry was started in response to a First Information Report (FIR) that Viacom18 Media Pvt Ltd submitted to the Mumbai Nodal Cyber Police. According to the ED statement, the FIR was filed against Fairplay and related companies under many provisions of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), the Information Technology (IT) Act, 2000, and the Copyright Act, 1957, for allegedly inflicting a revenue loss of more than Rs 100 crore.
Chirag Shah and Chintan Shah were engaged in the Fairplay platform’s activities, according to the financial inquiry agency’s investigations. Through their companies, Wohlig Transformations Private Limited in India and Wohlig Transformation Free Zone Establishment (FZE), Limited Liability Company (LLC) in Dubai, both people are accused of providing operational and technical assistance.
The ED has already carried out many search operations in the matter on June 12, August 27, September 27, and October 25, 2024, according to the statement. Several moveable assets were seized and frozen as a result of these searches, along with digital gadgets and damning papers.
The agency also issued temporary attachment orders on January 15, 2025, and on November 22 and December 26, 2024.
The ED statement estimates that the total value of the assets that have been attached and confiscated in this investigation so far is about Rs 344.15 crore.
