New Delhi: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has closed two cases related to the alleged fixing of Indian Premier League (IPL) matches in 2019, citing a lack of evidence. In May 2022, the CBI had filed two FIRs against seven individuals based on information suggesting a network involved in cricket betting was influencing IPL match outcomes, with inputs reportedly received from Pakistan. Among the accused were Dileep Kumar, Gurram Vasu, Gurram Satish, Sajjan Singh, Prabhu Lal Meena, Ram Avtar, and Amit Kumar Sharma.
After nearly two years of investigation, the CBI found insufficient evidence to proceed with the prosecution against the accused. The agency filed a closure report on December 23, providing a detailed description of the allegations and its probe. The decision on whether to accept the report or order further investigations will be left to the court. The individuals were accused of running the racket for over 10-13 years, involving suspicious cash transactions from their accounts.
The CBI alleged that the accused were in contact with individuals in Pakistan through a Pakistani mobile number. The networks, receiving inputs from Pakistan, were allegedly deceiving the public by inducing them into betting, according to the FIR. The racketeers were accused of operating bank accounts with fake identities and Know Your Customer (KYC) documents in collusion with unidentified bank officials. Dileep Kumar, for example, was alleged to have operated multiple bank accounts with domestic cash deposits exceeding ₹43 lakh since 2013, defying economic rationale.
In the case of Gurram Satish, cash deposits worth ₹4.55 crore (domestic) and ₹3.05 lakh (foreign) were allegedly made during 2012-20 in six bank accounts. Gurram Vasu was accused of depositing ₹5.37 crore during the same period. The CBI claimed there was no recognizable business rationale to explain these transactions. The FIR related to the Delhi-Hyderabad racket alleged the involvement of the network in cricket betting during the IPL matches held in 2019. The accused were allegedly running a cricket betting racket, committing fraud, inducing betting by the public, and deceiving them of their hard-earned money while impersonating identities for operating various bank accounts. The FIR also claimed the network's involvement in cricket betting during the then-ongoing IPL matches in 2019 in Delhi and other places.
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