ED arrests Mumbai businessman in IPL betting case

New Delhi: The Enforcement Directorate has arrested a Mumbai-based businessman in connection with its money laundering probe in the cricket T-20 IPL betting case. Official sources said Ramgopal Agarwal was arrested under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).

he has been arrested for being “involved in corruption” in the case, they said. The arrest pertains to a case the agency has been probing against its former Joint Director (Ahmedabad zone) J P Singh who was arrested by the CBI on alleged corruption charges while he and his team were probing the betting case.

The CBI said in its FIR that “it has been alleged that certain officers of the Enforcement Directorate while investigating the cases of money laundering in betting and other such activities have allegedly demanded and accepted huge illegal gratification from the accused and suspect persons in the cases”.

The ED’s Ahmedabad unit was probing the Rs 2,000-crore IPL betting scandal, and the Rs 5,000-crore money laundering case against alleged hawala operator Afroz Fatta, in which the suspects allegedly sought favours, official sources earlier said.

The CBI claimed that huge bribe amount was allegedly taken by these officers as quid pro quo for various acts of omission and commission. The case against Singh and others has been registered under the provisions of criminal conspiracy under the Indian Penal Code and the Prevention of Corruption Act.