ED Raids 21 Locations in Magicwin Betting Case, Seizes Rs 30 Lakh
The Enforcement Directorate (ED), Ahmedabad regional office, conducted search operations at 21 locations in Delhi, Mumbai and Pune as part of the ongoing probe into the case of Magicwin, which was involved in illegal broadcasting of Cricket Men's T20 World Cup matches and various online betting activities.
The searches were carried out on December 10 and 12 under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), according to an ED press release issued on Tuesday. During the operation, bank funds worth around Rs 30 lakh were seized, and various incriminating documents and digital devices were seized.
The ED began its probe on the basis of an FIR registered by Ahmedabad's Cyber Crime Police against Magicwin and others.
D's investigation revealed that MagicWin is a betting website disguised as a gaming platform, actually owned by Pakistani nationals. This website is primarily managed by Indian nationals working or settled in Dubai.
In addition, it was also revealed that the betting games featured on the website were originally played in the Philippines and other countries where betting activities are legal. However, these games were re-broadcast on the MagicWin website using APIs copied from the original games.
Betting activities such as deposits, betting, and withdrawals are handled by the owners of Magicwin.
The ED probe also found that the money deposited by the players/bookies into the bank accounts shown on the MagicWin website was routed through multiple layers of shell/Mule bank accounts. The profits earned by the owners were then invested in crypto assets, withdrawn in cash, or transferred to Dubai via hawala channels.
Additionally, the winnings of players/bookmakers were transferred to their respective bank accounts through merchant accounts of various shell companies created with payment gateways or aggregators. Winnings were also transferred via Domestic Money Transfer (DMT).
During the investigation, it was revealed that MagicWin held a launch party in India, which was attended and supported by many Bollywood celebrities.