Gujarat Police widen probe into online cricket betting case; Rs 324-crore fraud network uncovered
Gandhinagar/Ahmedabad, June 21 (IANS): The Gujarat Police’s State Monitoring Cell (SMC) has widened its investigation into an alleged illegal online cricket betting and cyber fraud network, with authorities reporting multiple arrests, extensive use of mule bank accounts and suspected fraudulent transactions amounting to more than Rs 324 crore.
The case originated in May this year with the arrest of Vijay Kardani, following which investigators began tracing a wider network allegedly operating across several states and with overseas links.
According to officials, Kardani’s arrest led to the exposure of a structured racket connected to online betting activities linked to the Indian Premier League (IPL) season.
Acting on specific intelligence, police arrested Kardani from the Nikol area in Ahmedabad and seized electronic devices and assets, including a tablet, three mobile phones, a television set, a set-top box, accessories, cash and a car.
The total value of the seized property was estimated at Rs 15,73,660.
Subsequent investigations led to the registration of a case involving 47 accused persons, including a wanted main accused identified as Rajvirsingh and 45 others allegedly associated as clients or facilitators.
The case has been registered under Sections 4 and 5 of the Gambling Act, Section 112(2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and Section 66(D) of the Information Technology Act, 2000.
Investigators found that several accused persons, including Vijay Kardani, Meet Kalariya, Jay alias Raja Aghera, Anil Gokaldas alias Gopaldas Kotak and Akash Nayak, were allegedly involved in routing funds generated from illegal betting activities through mule bank accounts to conceal their identities and avoid detection.
Police said WhatsApp data retrieved from Kardani’s mobile phone contained details of 281 bank accounts, of which 50 were found to be frozen after verification through the National Cybercrime Reporting Portal (NCCRP).
In a separate recovery from the device of accused Anil Gokaldas, investigators identified details of 1,907 bank accounts, with 304 of them confirmed to be frozen.
These accounts were allegedly used for transactions linked to illegal online cricket betting and cyber fraud operations.
The investigation also revealed a layered commission-based structure for managing mule accounts.
Akash Nayak is alleged to have received a franchise-style arrangement from a Dubai-based handler identified as “Yuan” at a 40 per cent commission for managing betting-related financial flows.
He is further alleged to have sub-franchised operations across India at commissions ranging from 20 to 25 per cent.
Police stated that, during the wider probe, a total of 354 bank accounts linked to the network were found to have cybercrime complaints registered across multiple states.
These accounts had been frozen by law enforcement agencies after verification.
In addition, 542 cyber fraud complaints were recorded on the NCCRP portal in connection with the accounts under scrutiny.
According to the complaint data, victims were allegedly defrauded of a total of Rs 324,58,34,285.
Officials further said the accused had allegedly operated as part of a coordinated conspiracy over the past two years, using mule accounts registered in the names of unsuspecting individuals to route illegal funds generated from betting and gaming activities.
At present, 10 accused persons have been arrested in connection with the case.
They include Aakash Nayak, Anil Kotak, Pratik Maradiya, Vijay Kardani, Ashvin Mendapara, Jay alias Shambhu Kaneriya, Hiren Kathritiya, Navnit Khambala, Jay alias Raja Aghera and Meet Kalariya.
Investigators are continuing to trace the money trail within India and overseas to identify additional beneficiaries and account handlers.
Police said further arrests are likely as the investigation progresses, with several individuals already in custody and others being traced as part of the ongoing operation.
–IANS
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