New Delhi, Nov 6: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has provisionally attached movable and immovable assets worth Rs 11.14 crore belonging to former Indian cricketers Suresh Raina and Shikhar Dhawan under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002, in connection with its ongoing probe into the illegal offshore betting platform 1xBet, the agency said on Thursday.

According to the ED, the attachment includes mutual fund investments worth Rs 6.64 crore held in Raina’s name and an immovable property valued at Rs 4.5 crore belonging to Dhawan.

The action stems from multiple FIRs registered by various state police agencies against the operators of 1xBet and its surrogate brands – 1xBat and 1xBat Sporting Lines – accused of promoting and facilitating unlawful online betting and gambling operations across India.

“Investigation revealed that both Suresh Raina and Shikhar Dhawan knowingly entered into endorsement agreements with foreign entities for the promotion of 1xBet through its surrogates,” the ED said in its press note.

“These endorsements were made in return for payments routed through foreign entities to conceal the illicit origin of the funds, which are linked to proceeds of crime generated from illegal betting activities,” it added.

ED officials further found that 1xBet operated without authorisation in India, targeting users through social media, online videos, and print advertisements. To disguise the source of funds, payments were layered through multiple entities and foreign accounts.

During the investigation, the agency uncovered a laundering trail exceeding Rs1,000 crore. It was found that over 6,000 “mule” bank accounts were used to collect money from Indian bettors, routed through several payment gateways.

Many merchants on these platforms were onboarded without proper KYC verification, and their declared business activities did not match transaction patterns.

Searches were conducted at four payment gateways, leading to the seizure of incriminating evidence. Over 60 bank accounts linked to the operation have been frozen, with funds exceeding Rs 4 crore blocked so far.

Issuing a public advisory, the ED urged citizens to refrain from engaging in or promoting online betting and gambling platforms, warning that aiding such activities may lead to prosecution under PMLA, which carries imprisonment of up to seven years and attachment of assets derived from illegal proceeds.

Further investigation into the case is underway.

Carrara (Gold Coast), Nov 6: Australia have won the toss and elected to bowl first against India in the fourth T20I at the Carrara Oval on Thursday. The five-game series is poised at 1-1 and a win for either of the two teams will ensure they are ahead in their quest to eventually claim the trophy.

After winning the toss, Australia skipper Mitchell Marsh said Adam Zampa, Glenn Maxwell, Josh Phillipe and Ben Dwarshius come in as the four changes due to first-choice players like Travis Head and Sean Abbott going to play Sheffield Shield in preparation for the Ashes.

“We don’t play a lot here. It is great to be here, will try to get as much information about the surface as we can. It is great, five-match series going down to the last two games, both teams will be pumped,” he said.

India captain Suryakumar Yadav said his playing eleven is unchanged, in what is also the side’s first time of playing an international game in Gold Coast. “This is what you play bilaterals for, you challenge yourself and it is a beautiful stadium, everything to play for. The preparation has been good.

“We had a day off, had a good practice session yesterday. It looks like a subcontinent wicket, later on it might get slower, so we are happy to bat first. We were looking to bat first. Looks similar to Indian conditions, put runs on the board and we want to take up that challenge,” he said.

Playing XIs

India: Abhishek Sharma, Shubman Gill, Suryakumar Yadav (captain), Tilak Varma, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Jitesh Sharma (wk), Shivam Dube, Arshdeep Singh, Varun Chakaravarthy, and Jasprit Bumrah

Australia: Mitchell Marsh (captain), Matthew Short, Josh Inglis (wk), Tim David, Josh Philippe, Marcus Stoinis, Glenn Maxwell, Ben Dwarshuis, Xavier Bartlett, Nathan Ellis, and Adam Zampa

New Delhi, Nov 6: Prime Minister Narendra Modi, while engaging with the World Cup-winning Indian women’s cricket team, praised the individual efforts of the players in achieving the collective goal of claiming the coveted trophy. One such player was wicketkeeper-batter Richa Ghosh, who also holds the U19 World Cup trophy in her cabinet alongside the WPL title.

During the interaction at his official residence at Lok Kalyan Marg, PM Modi highlighted Richa’s achievements and said, “Richa, you win every game you play, don’t you? Richa gets a chance everywhere.”

To this, Richa, with a shy smile, replied, “I don’t know, sir. But yes, when we were under-19s, seniors, and in the WPL, we used to win trophies.”

Richa played the semifinal against Australia and the final with a hairline fracture in her left-hand middle finger. She had originally sustained the injury while keeping against New Zealand in the group stage and sat out of the washed-out fixture against Bangladesh.

“When we used to bat, we used to hit sixes. I think Harry Di (Harmanpreet), Smriti (Mandhana), and others trusted us. The whole team trusted us. If there’s a situation where the balls are fewer but you need more runs, they trust us — that’s why I got the confidence that ‘you can do it’,” Richa added.

Team India had a topsy-turvy campaign, starting with two wins before losing three consecutive matches. But they came back strong, defeating New Zealand and Bangladesh in their final two group games before beating seven-time champions Australia in the semifinal.

Speaking about the team bonding during the tense phase of the tournament, spinner Radha Yadav said, “We lost three games. But the best part was that we were together in defeat. We were backing each other and talking to each other. So it was genuinely pure. That’s why God gave us this trophy.”

To this, PM Modi replied, “No, no, you’ve earned it with your hard work,” and then asked the team how they had prepared for the mega event.

Radha said, “Sir, like you said, we’ve been playing cricket very well for a long time. We were preparing for every situation — fitness-wise, fielding-wise, and skill-wise. We had been working hard for that for a long time. And like I said, if everyone stays together, it becomes easy. If someone is alone, it’s very difficult for him or her to work.”

The PM then asked Radha, “I’ve heard that in the beginning, you spent your prize money to help your father. And your father kept encouraging you?”

“Yes, all the time. I mean, it was not that easy in our family at that time…” Radha responded.

Speaking to the PM about India’s historic triumph, all-rounder Sneh Rana said, “Sir, it’s a lot of hard work. And our bowling coach, Avishkar, we were talking to him a lot — about how to tackle a batter. So, we try to replicate all the strategies that are made with the captain, vice-captain, and head coach. And thankfully, it worked.”

“There are a lot of matches where we can’t do it. But still, we motivate ourselves to do better next time,” she added.