New Delhi: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) today arrested two Delhi-based persons in connection with its probe in the Rs 4,000 crore alleged hawala and money laundering case against some syndicates indulging in betting during ongoing IPL T-20 cricket matches.
The searches, which began in Delhi and neighbouring Gurgaon, continued till late last night and this morning two persons, who were allegedly hawala dealers, were arrested by the probe agency, official sources said.
The two identified as Ritesh Bansal alias ‘Bharat Delhi' and Ankush Bansal have been arrested by the sleuths of ED Ahmedabad zone under provisions of anti-money laundering laws, the sources said, adding, they would be taken to Ahmedabad after getting a transit remand from a court here. Rs 25 lakh in cash has been seized from them, the sources claimed.
Simultaneous searches were also carried out by ED in Ahmedabad in connection with the case, they said. The probe is being handled by ED's Ahmedabad office which is investigating charges relating to hawala and Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
Some locations in Mumbai and Bangalore were also searched as part of yesterday's operation.
Besides cash, the searches yielded recovery of over 250 cell phones, hard drives, laptops and other computer material that was used by those running the betting syndicate, the sources said.
On March 19 this year, ED's Ahmedabad office had claimed to have busted the alleged betting racket and arrested some bookies from a farmhouse on the outskirts of Vadodara city in Gujarat.
Later, the probe agency arrested 13 others in connection with this illegal activity.
On March 26, ED registered a fresh money laundering case against two prime suspects and a few others in the Rs 4,000 crore alleged Indian Premier League (IPL) betting racket. Besides sections under the PMLA, ED has registered a case under various sections of Indian Penal Code dealing with criminal conspiracy, cheating and forgery.
