ED Seizes Assets of Ex-Cricketers Dhawan & Raina in Rs 11.14 Crore Laundering Investigation

On Thursday, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) announced the attachment of assets valued at Rs. 11.14 crore belonging to former cricketers Shikhar Dhawan and Suresh Raina. This action is part of an ongoing money-laundering investigation related to an allegedly illegal betting platform, 1xBet.

The ED issued a provisional order under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) to seize Dhawan’s commercial land in Delhi, worth Rs. 4.5 crore, and Raina’s mutual fund investments, totaling Rs. 6.64 crore. The investigation revealed that the cricketers knowingly engaged in endorsement deals with foreign entities to promote 1xBet and its affiliates.

According to the agency, these endorsements were compensated through payments routed via foreign entities to obscure the illicit origin of the funds, which were allegedly derived from unlawful betting activities.

Both cricketers have remained silent on the issue; Dhawan retired from all forms of cricket in August, while Raina stepped away from the sport in 2020.

The ED stated that 1xBet operated in India without proper authorization, using surrogate branding and advertisements to target Indian users across social media, online videos, and print media. Endorsement payments were reportedly structured through complex international transactions to hide the illegal sources of funds.

The investigation also uncovered that 1xBet facilitated betting and gambling for Indian users by collecting money through various mule accounts. The agency claimed merchants were onboarded without undergoing any KYC verification, and analyses showed these merchants engaged in business activities that did not align with their transaction patterns, indicating potential laundering of over Rs. 1000 crore.

The ED has also issued a warning against engaging in online betting and gambling. Recently, the Indian government enacted legislation to prohibit real-money online gaming in the country.

In addition to Dhawan and Raina, the ED has interrogated other prominent figures, including sporting icons like Yuvraj Singh and Robin Uthappa, actors such as Sonu Sood and Urvashi Rautela (the Indian brand ambassador for 1xBet), and former political and entertainment personalities like Mimi Chakraborty and Ankush Hazra, as part of the investigation.

Information sourced from PTI
Published on November 6, 2025