IPL betting, laundering case: ED conducts multiple searches

Searches were on Tuesday conducted in several cities including Mumbai, Nagpur, Bhopal and the national capital as part of Enforcement Directorate’s probe in the multi-crore betting and money laundering case in the Indian Premier League (IPL).

Sources said separate teams of ED sleuths fanned out to these cities and began searches at more than 10 locations on a day when a Supreme Court-constituted panel suspended prominent IPL teams Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals on charges of their key officials indulging in betting of these matches.

“The searches are being conducted by the Ahmedabad zonal office of the agency which is probing instances of multi-crore bets being placed in various editions of the IPL in the country.

“The agency has twice earlier conducted similar searches and on Tuesday’s action is based on further leads obtained by the investigators,” a source said.

After questioning of few bookies operating in Delhi and Mumbai the agency got new addresses and details about the clandestine hideouts used by bookies to place bets in the glamorous T-20 cricket extravaganza, the sources said.

Close to 50 sleuths in addition to local police are conducting the searches under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).