ED Files Charge Sheet Against Two People for Exploiting Online Gambling App PP Poker

The Directorate of Law Enforcement (ED) has filed a complaint against two people for allegedly operating “PP Poker Online Gaming App” and placing illegal bets and gambling, ED said on Wednesday. The people who have been charged have been identified as Hardeep Singh and Ankur alias Rahul Khanna, both residents of Kolkata.

Earlier on April 6, the ED had arrested Hardeep and Ankur under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act 2002 (PMLA) and also carried out searches of their residential premises along with other directors. and club agents located in Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata. .

The recent indictment was filed in a Special Court of the PMLA in Mapusa, Goa on 3 June under the provisions of the PMLA 2002. The Special Court also had notice of it on 17 June and addressed notices to defendants.

ED initiated the money laundering investigation based on the first report of information recorded by the Goa Police under various sections of the Indian Penal Code and Sections 3 and 4 of the Public Gambling Act 1976 of Goa, Daman and Diu and Section 66-D of the Information Technology Act 2000 for illegal gambling activities and embezzlement of huge sums of money through secret networks, causing thus losses to the public treasury.

Investigations by ED revealed that Hardeep and Ankur operated a syndicate named “Mini-India” on said online gambling application PP Poker.

“As part of this union, it is observed that around 25 to 30 clubs are operated by different individuals,” ED said.

“Through these clubs, individual players are invited via WhatsApp chats to place illegal bets through the poker game application PP Poker. It is seen that the commissions have been generated at the rate of 5% to 10% by these clubs on every table running by them,” ED said.

Settlement of betting commission and amount is done illegally through hawala operators in cash or through anonymous crypto accounts with each individual player and syndicate head by their respective club managers, the agency said, adding that “the investigation revealed that Hardeep Singh and Ankur also invested the proceeds of crime (POC) in the form of crypto accounts which were traced by ED.”

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