Neha Sharma questioned by ED in online betting app case

Registered in Curacao, 1xBet is stated by the portal to be a globally-recognised bookmaker with 18 years in the betting industry.

Model and actor Neha Sharma on Tuesday appeared before the Enforcement Directorate for questioning in a money laundering case linked to online betting platform 1xBet, officials said.

The statement of the 38-year-old actor is being recorded under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), they said. Sharma is understood to be linked to the betting platform by way of certain endorsements. The federal probe agency had earlier attached assets worth Rs 11.14 crore of former cricketers Shikhar Dhawan and Suresh Raina in this case after their questioning in a similar manner.

Registered in Curacao, 1xBet is stated by the portal to be a globally-recognised bookmaker with 18 years in the betting industry. 1xBet operated in India without authorization and used surrogate branding and advertisements to target Indian users through social media, online videos, and print media, the ED said.

"Payments for endorsements were structured through layered transactions using foreign intermediaries to disguise the illegal source of funds,” the ED said.

Also read: Sonu Sood questioned by ED in betting app-linked PMLA case

The Union government recently brought a legislation to ban real money online gaming in India. Apart from the two cricketers whose assets were attached, the ED also questioned sporting icons such as Yuvraj Singh and Robin Uthappa, actors Sonu Sood, Urvashi Rautela (Indian brand ambassador for 1xBet), Mimi Chakraborty (a former Trinamool Congress MP) and Ankush Hazra (Bengali actor), as part of this investigation.