Cricket betting case: Arrested bookie recorded ₹600-crore transactions during IPL

Bets amounting to around ₹6,000 crore were placed in Mumbai alone during the recently concluded Indian Premier League (IPL) season, the police said after interrogating Sonu Jalan, the main accused in the betting case.

On May 29, Malad-based Jalan, considered to be one of the top cricket bookies in the country, was arrested by the Thane anti-extortion cell (AEC).

A senior AEC official said that the police have seized a diary detailing Jalan’s transactions during IPL.

Jalan told the police that he had recorded transaction of around ₹600 crore during the IPL this year.

“Apart from Jalan, there are more than 50 to 60 small and big time bookies operating in the city,” the official said.

“A total of ₹5,000 crore to ₹6,000 crore were placed on bets,” the official said.

Senior inspector of AEC Pradeep Sharma said the police have started a parallel probe into Jalan’s monetary transactions and that of his punters, who are Bollywood celebrities and big businessmen.

Some of them are likely to be summoned for questioning soon, he added.

Sharma said, “We have got specific information about how the money generated by Jalan and his global syndicate was distributed and delivered to punters.”

“We are soon going to seek custody of the overseas-based conduits of the syndicate by approaching the Interpol. That will help unravel the racket,” he added.

An AEC official, part of the team interrogating Jalan, said the bookie told them that he used to receive bets of around ₹9 crore to ₹10 crore for every IPL match. This has been the trend over the years.

The punters were paid a day after the match. The mode of payment is always cash home delivered or through angadias (local courier) for far-off places.

Jalan revealed that the fast-paced T20 matches were a favourite among punters while one-dayers without India team generated the least interest.

“The Pakistan Premier League (PPL), organised on the lines of IPL, was a non-starter in the country’s bookmaking market as it coincided with the IPL,” said the official.