Ahmedabad: Gujarat police investigating a gambling racket allegedly run by five Malaysians have found that the operators used 114 accounts to launder the money they had obtained from various gambling apps. Investigators issued a look out circular against the foreign nationals.
Police said at least 47,000 suspected entries were made in various bank accounts reflecting transactions of the alleged punters.
“There were around 47,000 entries in the bank accounts and the money was withdrawn in about 4,500 transactions. These entries were money paid by people into the gambling apps run by the Malaysian nationals. There are thus thousands of victims of the racket,” said a police officer.
The Malaysian nationals, an NRI based in Malaysia and nine persons from Rajkot and Veraval were accused of creating a web of dummy bank accounts in Rajkot and Veraval districts to launder the proceeds of illegal online gaming and gambling.
The FIR registered with Cybercrime police on August 22 states that the accused were engaged in laundering of a staggering Rs 33 crore. This figure could go up during the course of the investigation. A probe is underway to determine the number of people defrauded by the accused using promises of substantial returns on bets placed through the apps.
The Gujarat anti-terrorist squad (ATS) busted the scam after receiving information on August 12 that an NRI based in Malaysia, Rohit Vadher, a Malaysian national named Chua Ming Ho alias Robin and a resident of Sutrapada in Gir Somnath, Mahek Chhag, were cheating people through betting and gambling apps. They were also allegedly creating dummy bank accounts.
ATS zeroed in on Chagg and eight people from Veraval and Rajkot who were working for Vadher and the five Malaysians — the alleged kingpin Tan Chee Keat and his aides Chua Ming Ho, Ying Chi Fal, Wong Ye Yong, and Goh Bee Tiong.
We also published the following articles recently
Gujarat police are investigating a money laundering scheme involving Malaysian nationals. The investigation was initiated after it was discovered that Rs 33 crore had been transferred from bank accounts in Saurashtra to Kuala Lumpur. The accused are alleged to have created counterfeit and dummy bank accounts in order to cheat and launder money obtained through online gaming and betting. The investigation is ongoing to determine the number of victims and the extent of the scam. Eight Indian nationals have been arrested so far, but no action has been taken against the Malaysian nationals.
Police in Indore arrested 23 people, including the husband of a corporator, for their involvement in a gambling ring. The raid was conducted after receiving a tip-off, and authorities seized cash, mobile phones, and cars from the accused. The husband of the corporator, a former corporator himself, was booked in the case. The accused were charged under the Public Gambling Act, 1976. The investigation is ongoing.
A former corporator and nine others were arrested for gambling in Amravati. The police conducted a raid at a house in Jamil Colony and seized Rs 1.51 lakh from the gamblers. The raid was carried out by a team from the Commissioner of Police’s criminal intelligence team. The police also seized nine cell phones and other materials from the spot. The arrested individuals have been identified as Abdul alias Wasim Karodpati Abdul Majid, Badshah Pathan Babaddin Pathan, Sheikh Asif Sheikh Jabbar, Abdul Salim Abdul Jabbar, Sayyed Mujahit Sayyed Noor, Abdul Qadir Shahid Khan, Danish Khan Farooq Khan, Afroj Khan Majit Khan, Ijar Ahmad Sheikh Tura, and Riyajoddin Badroddin.