IPL betting: ED arrests bookie Anil Jaisinghani for money-laundering

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has arrested suspected bookie Anil Jaisinghani in a money laundering case linked to an under probe IPL betting racket, officials said Saturday.

Jaisinghani and his daughter Aniksha were recently arrested by the Mumbai Police for allegedly hatching a conspiracy to bribe and blackmail Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis’ wife Amruta Fadnavis and using private messages, purportedly hers, to extort money from her when she refused to save Jaisinghani (Anil) from several FIRs lodged against him.

Also read: Amruta Fadnavis blackmail case: Inquiry announced

The Ahmedabad office of the ED took his custody on Friday approaching a Mumbai court with a production warrant and seeking his custody under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). The ED was acting upon an open nonbailable warrant issued in the past against Jaisinghani by an Ahmedabad court that was issued in connection with the 2015 money laundering case linked to alleged betting in the IPL matches being probed by the federal agency.

The agency is understood to be recording Jaisinghani’s statement in this case having obtained his custody on Friday. He was recently also taken into custody by the Madhya Pradesh Police in a case of alleged bootlegging.

The father-daughter duo is alleged to have hatched a conspiracy as part of which Aniksha developed friendly relations with Amruta Fadnavis and then requested her to “save her father from the several criminal cases pending against him as the husband of the complainant (Amruta Fadnavis) is a public servant”.

Also read: Amruta Fadnavis bribery case: HC reserves order on bookie’s plea

Aniksha tried to offer a bribe of Rs 1 crore to Amruta Fadnavis. The Malabar Hill Police Station in Mumbai registered an FIR against Anil Jaisinghani and Aniksha on February 20 for allegedly threatening to make public certain audio and video clips that purportedly show Amruta Fadnavis accepting favours from Aniksha.

Aniksha, who was arrested on March 17, was granted bail in the case on March 27 by the court. Anil Jaisinghani, who was arrested by the Mumbai Police from Gujarat, is currently in judicial custody after the court rejected his bail plea.

(With Agency inputs)