MUMBAI: The Enforcement Directorate’s Mumbai unit on Tuesday conducted searches at 17 countrywide locations as part of its money-laundering investigation into the Cyprus-based illegal online betting platform Parimatch, which is accused of generating around ₹3,000 crore from Indian users in 2024-25 by luring them with promises of high returns.
During the searches, movable assets of around ₹1.56 crore, including cash of around ₹1.2 crore, were seized while ₹3.8 crore in bank funds were frozen. Incriminating documents and digital devices were also seized. So far, assets worth ₹112 crore have been frozen.
Acting on a case registered by the Mumbai cyber police against the website ‘Parimatch.com’, the ED probe found that the latter aggressively promoted its betting platform through surrogate advertisements, using names such ‘Parimatch Sports’ and ‘Parimatch News’. Unlike other betting websites, Parimatch focused on hyper-local marketing wherein it sponsored teams in local cricket leagues and hockey and football tournaments in more than 15 Indian states.
Investigations revealed that the platform promoted betting-related advertisements through leading quick-commerce applications, and circulated promotional material along with grocery deliveries to attract new users.
The ED investigation so far has revealed that Parimatch and its associates adopted a complex network of around 500 mule accounts, payment intermediaries and financial channels for the collection, diversion and transfer of funds from its users/ players. For instance, deposits made by users were often routed directly into a withdrawing user’s bank account, thereby concealing the actual money trail.
User deposits and withdrawals were routed through multiple current accounts opened in the names of entities that were also engaged in genuine businesses linked to technology and finance. This allegedly enabled the platform to pass off user funds as vendor payments, business transactions and payment gateway services.
The ED’s searches further revealed the alleged misuse of the Banking Correspondent (BC) network (a decentralised banking model for financial services to those without access to banking services in rural, semi-urban, and remote areas), mobile-money transfer agents, Grahak Seva Kendras, Cash Management Services, local kirana stores and retail outlets for processing payouts and movement of funds. The money was first transferred to such retailers, who then passed it on to the BC, which in turn recharged the wallets of those retailers. Once such wallets were loaded, the retailers used them to make payouts to Parimatch platform users, thereby concealing the actual source and trail of funds.
