Fairplay betting case: ED attaches assets worth Rs 307 crore

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has provisionally attached assets worth Rs 307.16 crore in connection with its ongoing probe into online betting and illegal broadcasting platform Fairplay.

The attachment, ordered on September 19 under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, covers movable assets in the form of bank balances and immovable assets, including villas and flats located in Dubai. With the latest order, the total attachment and seizure in the case has reached approximately Rs 651.31 crore.

The ED's investigation stems from an FIR lodged by Viacom18 Media Pvt. Ltd. with Mumbai’s Nodal Cyber Police against Fairplay and its associates for offences under the IPC, the IT Act, and the Copyright Act. The FIR alleged a loss of over Rs 100 crore in revenues. Several other FIRs against Fairplay and its partners for illegal betting were later clubbed together for investigation.

According to the ED, the scale of Fairplay’s operations and the movement of funds abroad through trade-based money laundering suggest that the proceeds of crime run into several hundred crores.

Investigators have identified Krish Laxmichand Shah as the key figure behind the platform. Shah, who is based in Dubai, is accused of floating multiple entities abroad — including Play Ventures NV and Dutch Antilles Management NV in Curaçao, Fair Play Sport LLC and Fairplay Management DMCC in Dubai, and Play Ventures Holding Limited in Malta — to channel Fairplay’s operations. His associates, including Anil Kumar Dadlani, are also alleged to have helped acquire assets in the UAE through relatives and related entities.

The latest action adds to earlier enforcement measures.

The ED had previously conducted search operations on June 12, August 27, September 27, and October 25, 2024, leading to the seizure and freezing of assets, documents and digital devices. Provisional attachment orders were also issued in November and December 2024, and January 2025.

In February this year, the agency arrested Chintan Shah and Chirag Shah, described as key players in the betting network. A prosecution complaint was filed before the Special PMLA Court in Mumbai on April 1, 2025, and cognizance was taken on April 25.