2 brothers arrested in FairPlay case, linked to cricket betting

Mumbai: The Enforcement Directorate has arrested siblings Chirag Shah and Chintan Shah in a money laundering probe connected to the FairPlay app case. The case involves unauthorised cricket match broadcasts for betting activities. The court granted two days of police custody for the accused. The accused helped the owner of the FairPlay app in running the illegal operation said ED. ED said the accused, along with others, had created infrastructure providing technical assistance, software solutions, and promotional support for the app. They utilised numerous shell accounts to transfer funds, potentially concealing the money trail, which is typical of financial misconduct.ED said that approximately Rs 4,500 crore was illegally transferred overseas, disguised as import payments and foreign investments through pharmaceutical enterprises.According to ED, Krish Shah held a major stake in FairPlay and, together with Chirag Shah, launched Fang Gaming in 2020 to enter India's online gaming sector. To avoid Indian gaming regulations, Krish Shah relocated operations by registering FairPlay in Curacao and establishing entities across Dubai, Malta and other locations.ED stated that both brothers were instrumental in FairPlay's technical development and operations. Their tasks included updating bank accounts, managing messaging platform numbers for transactions, and supervising UPI collections via payment gateways and the Ethereum cryptocurrency. Evidence showed their participation in WhatsApp groups like ‘FairPlayTech', ‘FairPlay Management' and ‘FairPlay MH Team' alongside Krish Shah and others.These groups contained information about crypto wallets, daily collections, and user details, though the brothers provided evasive responses during questioning, claimed ED.The investigation revealed that private financial services companies facilitated illegal payouts to FairPlay users. The platform collected funds through dummy accounts, which were then circulated through multiple intermediary accounts.