Agartala, Aug 1 (IANS) The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has provisionally attached assets worth approximately Rs 1.05 crore under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002, in connection with an illegal IPL/cricket betting syndicate allegedly operated from Tripura, the central probe agency said on Saturday.
The ED, Agartala Sub‑Zonal Office, attached movable and immovable properties valued at approximately Rs 1.05 crore through a Provisional Attachment Order on July 31, 2026, in connection with the syndicate.
The attached assets comprise nine immovable properties and balances lying in bank accounts, held in the names of the accused person and his wife, the ED said in a statement.
The ED initiated an investigation under the PMLA, 2002, based on an FIR registered by Tripura Police at Amtali Police Station in West Tripura under various sections of the Indian Penal Code, 1860, and the Tripura Gambling Act, 1926, against Prasenjit Paul and Laxman Paul.
The FIR was registered following a search conducted by Tripura Police on May 11, 2023, at the residential premises of Prasenjit Paul, during which cash amounting to Rs 93 lakh was recovered, along with a laptop, mobile phones, four debit cards and 17 notebooks containing entries of betting transactions.
Investigation under the PMLA revealed that Prasenjit Paul, in connivance with his maternal uncle Laxman Paul and other associates, was engaged in an organised syndicate of illegal betting (sattebaji) on IPL and other cricket matches. Laxman Paul, a named co‑accused in the FIR, is alleged to have assisted Prasenjit Paul in the betting activities and in evading arrest, the statement said.
Further investigation revealed that Laxman Paul, along with his wife Jhuma Dey Paul, in whose name he operated and controlled several bank accounts, accumulated large cash deposits and multiple immovable properties running into crores of rupees, with no disclosed or documented source of legitimate income.
This is the second Provisional Attachment Order issued by the ED in this case, following an earlier order dated March 6, attaching properties held in the names of Prasenjit Paul and his mother.
The properties now attached under the present order comprise nine immovable properties, including agricultural and residential land parcels situated in West Tripura and a property at Kolkata, West Bengal, purchased predominantly through cash payments, together with balances lying in bank accounts, all standing in the names of Laxman Paul and Jhuma Dey Paul.
With the present order, the total value of proceeds of crime attached by ED in this case, including cash, immovable properties and bank balances attached vide the earlier order of March 16, 2026, stands at approximately Rs 2.43 crore. Further investigation is underway.
–IANS
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