As part of its money-laundering investigation into the illicit betting app 1xBet, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) announced on Friday, December 19, that it had seized assets worth ₹7.93 crore that belonged to former Indian cricketers Yuvraj Singh and Robin Uthappa, former Trinamool Congress MP Mimi Chakraborty, and actor Sonu Sood.
Model Neha Sharma, Bengali actor Ankush Hazra, and Meera Rautela, the mother of actor and 1xBet India ambassador Urvashi Rautela, are among the others whose properties have been linked. Celebrities and social media influencers were also warned by the federal investigate agency that it is prohibited to support or promote illicit betting or gaming networks, including through surrogate marketing.
Hindustan Times reports that the properties attached under the most recent provisional attachment order issued under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) total about ₹1 crore for Sonu Sood, ₹59 lakh for Mimi Chakraborty, ₹2.5 crore for Yuvraj Singh’s company YWC Health and Wellness Pvt Ltd, ₹1.26 crore for Neha Sharma, ₹8.26 lakh for Robin Uthappa, ₹47.20 lakh for Ankush Hazra, and ₹2.02 crore for Meera Rautela.
According to the Enforcement Directorate, which claimed to have recorded all of the accused celebrities’ statements over a number of hours, the assets that are attached are proceeds of crime, which are defined under the PMLA as money obtained illegally. The agency also asserted that these celebrities intentionally signed endorsement deals with overseas companies in order to use surrogate platforms to promote 1xBet.
According to Hindustan Times, the statement stated, “These endorsements were made in exchange for payments that were made through foreign entities to conceal the illicit origin of the funds, which are linked to proceeds of crime generated from illegal betting activities.”
Enforcement Directorate, Headquarters office has provisionally attached movable and immovable assets valued at Rs. 7.93 Crore belonging to Yuvraj Singh, Robin Uthhapa, Urvashi Rautela, Sonu Sood, Mimi Chakraborty, Ankush Hazra and Neha Sharma under PMLA, 2002 in the case of illegal online betting… pic.twitter.com/2prhaSNcsV
— Enforcement Directorate (@dir_ed) December 19, 2025
The ED claims that 1xBet, domiciled in Curaçao, used surrogate branding and marketing to target Indian customers through social media platforms, online videos, and print media while operating in India without the necessary authorisation. In an effort to hide the monies’ illicit origin, the agency’s investigation revealed that endorsement payments were sent through a series of interconnected bank transactions involving international middlemen.
According to the Enforcement Directorate, several FIRs filed against the 1xBet operators by different state police agencies served as the impetus for the money-laundering investigation. The agency discovered throughout its inquiry that 1xBat was a surrogate brand utilised by the offshore betting platform. It is alleged that organisations using the 1xBat brand promoted and enabled illicit internet gaming and betting throughout India.
As part of the same inquiry, the Enforcement Directorate seized assets valued at ₹11.14 crore from former Indian cricketers Shikhar Dhawan and Suresh Raina in October.
In the meantime, legislation to outlaw real-money internet gaming in India has just been introduced by the Union government.
India
