As ED cracks down on Joganiya betting racket, it finds complex hawala nexus and a kingpin sitting in Dubai

As per the FIRs, Inani – who is now in Dubai – and his associates had been operating illegal online gambling/betting activities in the name of “Joganiya Online Book/App” by operating web-based portals under the name “Joganiya Online Book” to facilitate illegal betting on cricket, football, casino games, and other chance-based activities.

A former corporator associated with the Congress party, Inani hails from Kapasan in Chittorgarh and has had several cases lodged against him in the district.

It is alleged that Inani and his associates collected money from players in the form of cash or through online payment mode. They used to lure daily wage labourers and salaried youth to enroll on the platform on the pretext of winning huge suns by playing chance-based games. As per ED, Inani and his associates cheated “innocent and gullible players to the tune of hundreds of crores.”

During the search operations, ED found that Inani had been operating the “Joganiya Online Book” by using hundreds of mule bank accounts, procured through middlemen, by paying commission. “There is no organised / regular payment system and the payment from the players was received in hundreds of mule bank accounts and in cash too,” the ED said.

Then, the controller/operators used to send or disseminate details of mule bank accounts to the players over mobile phones to receive payments. These mule bank accounts were used to layer and integrate illegal proceeds into the financial system.

ED said that the evidence gathered during searches indicate that Inani has channelised the proceeds of crime to Dubai through hawala channels for investment in real estate business and acquisition of immovable properties there. The details of several immovable properties acquired by Balmukund Inani in his name, his family members, and close associates have been gathered during searches, the ED said.

The search operations resulted in seizure of cash amounting to Rs 13 lakh and a high-end vehicle (Jaguar F-Pace) apart from freezing of Rs 47.66 lakh in various bank accounts and Rs 12.80 lakh in one Demat account under the PMLA.

“Several documents related to immovable and movable properties, substantial incriminating evidence including details of hundreds of mule accounts and several mobile phones have also been seized, which are being examined,” the ED said.