AHMEDABAD: City Crime Branch officers on Saturday announced that they unearthed a racket worth Rs 1,414 crore in connection with an international cricket betting syndicate.
They have filed a complaint for cheating and forgery against five persons including a bookie from Rajkot, who was earlier accused in a 2018 IPL betting racket by Thane Police.
According to the complaint filed with detection of crime branch (DCB), a sub-inspector probing a cricket betting racket found that hawala money had been moved using 11 accounts between April 2022 and September 2022.
The hawala transactions were supervised by a Rajkot-based bookie, Rakesh Rajdev, who police say has shifted to Dubai.
On October 17, 2022, city crime branch raided a house at Adhishthan Shriya Flats in Sola and caught one Mehul Pujara, allegedly accepting bets on cricket matches. Police had then filed a complaint against Pujara and 13 others under the Gambling Prevention Act.
During their investigation, police found that a huge amount of money had been deposited in at least 11 accounts. When police checked with one of the account holders, Akash Ojha, he told them that two men from Naroda had promised him a loan and taken his documents to open a bank account.
The two men from Naroda – who identified themselves as Ashik Patel and Karmesh Patel – had clandestinely opened another account in Ojha’s name at a private bank in Odhav. They used this account to launder the proceeds of the gambling racket.
Police said that Ashik, Karmesh and an aide named Harikesh Patel deposited Rs 170 crore in the account in about four months.
Apart from Ojha’s account, the accused including Rajdev had carried out transactions worth crores in 10 other accounts, including those of shell companies.
For misusing Ojha’s identity documents to fraudulently open the bank account and deposit money, DCB filed a complaint for cheating, forgery, producing forged documents as genuine and criminal conspiracy against the five accused.
In June 2018, the anti-extortion cell of Thane Police in Maharashtra had named Rajdev as an absconding accused in an IPL betting racket which allegedly involved some Bollywood actors.
Crime branch officers said Rajdev, another bookie known only as “Khanna”, Ashik, Karmesh and Harikesh, are in the UAE and a lookout circular has been issued against them.
They have filed a complaint for cheating and forgery against five persons including a bookie from Rajkot, who was earlier accused in a 2018 IPL betting racket by Thane Police.
According to the complaint filed with detection of crime branch (DCB), a sub-inspector probing a cricket betting racket found that hawala money had been moved using 11 accounts between April 2022 and September 2022.
The hawala transactions were supervised by a Rajkot-based bookie, Rakesh Rajdev, who police say has shifted to Dubai.
On October 17, 2022, city crime branch raided a house at Adhishthan Shriya Flats in Sola and caught one Mehul Pujara, allegedly accepting bets on cricket matches. Police had then filed a complaint against Pujara and 13 others under the Gambling Prevention Act.
During their investigation, police found that a huge amount of money had been deposited in at least 11 accounts. When police checked with one of the account holders, Akash Ojha, he told them that two men from Naroda had promised him a loan and taken his documents to open a bank account.
The two men from Naroda – who identified themselves as Ashik Patel and Karmesh Patel – had clandestinely opened another account in Ojha’s name at a private bank in Odhav. They used this account to launder the proceeds of the gambling racket.
Police said that Ashik, Karmesh and an aide named Harikesh Patel deposited Rs 170 crore in the account in about four months.
Apart from Ojha’s account, the accused including Rajdev had carried out transactions worth crores in 10 other accounts, including those of shell companies.
For misusing Ojha’s identity documents to fraudulently open the bank account and deposit money, DCB filed a complaint for cheating, forgery, producing forged documents as genuine and criminal conspiracy against the five accused.
In June 2018, the anti-extortion cell of Thane Police in Maharashtra had named Rajdev as an absconding accused in an IPL betting racket which allegedly involved some Bollywood actors.
Crime branch officers said Rajdev, another bookie known only as “Khanna”, Ashik, Karmesh and Harikesh, are in the UAE and a lookout circular has been issued against them.
The post Ahmedabad Police crime branch bust cricket betting racket worth Rs 1,414 crore | Ahmedabad News – Times of India appeared first on RT News Today.
