Former TMC MP Mimi Chakraborty appears before ED in betting app PMLA case

Former Trinamool Congress MP Mimi Chakraborty on Monday appeared before the ED for questioning in a money-laundering case linked to an alleged illegal betting app, officials said. The statement of Chakraborty, 36, is being recorded under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) in a case related to an ''illegal'' betting app named 1xBet. The ex-MP and actor is understood to be linked to the app through certain endorsements and financial transactions. The Enforcement Directorate (ED) wants to understand her links with this app during the questioning. The agency is probing multiple such cases involving illegal betting apps that are alleged to have duped numerous people and investors worth crores of rupees or have evaded a huge amount of taxes. Former cricketers Suresh Raina and Shikhar Dhawan have been questioned by the federal probe agency in this case earlier. Actor Urvashi Rautela, 31, and Bengali actor Ankush Hazra have been asked to depose on Tuesday in this case by the ED. Rautela is 1xBet's Indian ambassador. According to the company, 1xBet is a globally recognised bookmaker with 18 years in the betting industry. The brand's customers can place bets on thousands of sporting events, with the company's website and app available in 70 languages. More sportspersons and celebrities are expected to be questioned by the agency in the coming days. The Union government has banned real-money online gaming by bringing a legislation recently. According to estimates by market analysis firms and probe agencies, there are about 22 crore Indian users in various such online betting apps out of which half (about 11 crore) are regular users. The online betting app market in India is worth over USD 100 billion which is growing at the rate of 30 per cent, according to experts. The government recently told Parliament that it has issued 1,524 orders from 2022 till June 2025 to block online betting and gambling platforms.

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