Daijiworld Media Network - Mumbai

Mumbai, Aug 14: In a sweeping multi-city operation, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) has frozen Rs 110 crore linked to a Rs 3,000 crore illegal online betting scam operated through the Cyprus-based platform Parimatch, officials confirmed on Thursday.

The crackdown, which spanned 17 locations including Mumbai, Delhi, Noida, Jaipur, Surat, Madurai, Kanpur, and Hyderabad, was carried out under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002. Investigators seized incriminating documents and digital devices during the raids.

The ED launched its probe based on an FIR filed by Mumbai’s Cyber Police, which alleged that Parimatch had defrauded investors by promising high returns and laundering massive sums in just one year.

Parimatch had boosted its profile in India through celebrity endorsements, roping in cricket stars Sunil Narine and Nicholas Pooran, a Bollywood actress, and a popular Indian rapper. The platform also sponsored major sporting events and used Indian shell entities for surrogate advertising under the names Parimatch Sports and Parimatch News.

According to the ED, several unlicensed payment service providers whose Payment Aggregator (PA) applications were rejected by the RBI facilitated fund collections for Parimatch by disguising themselves as Technology Service Providers (TSPs). They supplied APIs that helped route users' money into mule bank accounts.

One notable method involved diverting deposits into accounts in Tamil Nadu, where the cash was withdrawn and handed over to hawala operators. The funds were then funneled into UK-based virtual wallets, used to purchase USDT cryptocurrency via accounts controlled by Parimatch agents.

The ED said further investigations are ongoing to trace the full network of mule accounts, crypto wallets, and foreign links involved in the scam.