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Countdown starts, ED slaps money-laundering case on Mallya, Diageo stopped from paying
New Delhi/Mumbai /Bengaluru. The Enforcement Director (ED) on Monday registered a money-laundering case against founder of now defunct Kingfisher Airlines and liquor baron Vijay Mallya, official sources said.
“We have filed a case against Mallya on Monday. The case is specifically based on the case registered by the CBI against him and others in 2015,” Assistant Director (Enforcement Directorate) A.K. Rawal told IANS in New Delhi.
The businessman and the top executives of what was once Kingfisher Airlines (KFA) have been booked under Sections 3 and 4 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, Rawal said.
The measure follows an audit of the Rs.7,200 crore loan that a consortium of 11 public sector banks led by the State Bank of India (SBI) had extended to the KFA which the airline failed to repay.
The KFA is alleged to have diverted as much as Rs.4,000 crore of that money to international tax havens like Mauritius and Cayman Islands.
In addition to ED, Debt Recovery Tribunal (DRT) on Monday ordered British liquor major Diageo plc not to pay Mallya the $75 million (Rs.504 crore) agreed as a severance package to quit its Indian arm United Spirits Ltd till the case against him before it is decided.
“The presiding officer of the tribunal (R. Benkanahalli) ordered temporary attachment of the severance package amount and directed Diageo not to pay it till our case is finally heard and disposed of,” a SBI counsel told reporters here.
It is feared that Mallya might become a fugitive from law by shifting base to a country where it might be difficult to make him face the law, officials said. The flamboyant businessman recently announced his plans to spend more time in England.
He has denied all charges against him and taken exception to being labelled a “wilful defaulter” by lenders. He has also denied he was planning to flee the country and said he was ready to cooperate with the lenders to settle the debt.
Last month, Mallya agreed to quit as chairman of United Spirits Ltd. in return for a settlement by the British alcoholic beverages giant Diageo.
The State Scores Extra High on Gaming-Friendly Industry Index
Meghalaya scored 92.85 out of 100 possible points in a Gaming Industry Index and proved to be India’s most gaming-friendly state following its recent profound legislation changes over the field allowing land-based and online gaming, including games of chance, under a licensing regime.
The index by the UK India Business Council (UKIBC) uses a scale of 0 to 100 to measure the level of legalisation on gambling and betting achieved by a state based on the scores over a set of seven different games – lottery, horse racing, betting on sports, poker, rummy, casino and fantasy sports
Starting from February last year, Meghalaya became the third state in India’s northeast to legalise gambling and betting after Sikkim and Nagaland. After consultations with the UKIBC, the state proceeded with the adoption of the Meghalaya Regulation of Gaming Act, 2021 and the nullification of the Meghalaya Prevention of Gambling Act, 1970. Subsequently in December, the Meghalaya Regulation of Gaming Rules, 2021 were notified and came into force.
All for the Tourists
The move to legalise and license various forms of offline and online betting and gambling in Meghalaya is aimed at boosting tourism and creating jobs, and altogether raising taxation revenues for the northeastern state. At the same time, the opportunities to bet and gamble legally will be reserved only for tourists and visitors.
“We came out with a Gaming Act and subsequently framed the Regulation of Gaming Rules, 2021. The government will accordingly issue licenses to operate games of skill and chance, both online and offline,” said James P. K. Sangma, Meghalaya State Law and Taxation Minister speaking in the capital city of Shillong. “But the legalized gambling and gaming will only be for tourists and not residents of Meghalaya,” he continued.
To be allowed to play, tourists and people visiting the state for work or business purposes will have to prove their non-resident status by presenting appropriate documents, in a process similar to a bank KYC (Know Your Customer) procedure.
Meghalaya Reaches Out to a Vast Market
With 140 millions of people in India estimated to bet regularly on sports, and a total of 370 million desi bettors around prominent sporting events, as per data from one of the latest reports by Esse N Videri, Meghalaya is set to reach out and take a piece of a vast market.
Estimates on the financial value of India’s sports betting market, combined across all types of offline channels and online sports and cricket predictions and betting platforms, speak about amounts between $130 and $150 billion (roughly between ₹9.7 and ₹11.5 lakh crore).
Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Delhi are shown to deliver the highest number of bettors and Meghalaya can count on substantial tourists flow from their betting circles. The sports betting communities of Karnataka, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh and Haryana are also not to be underestimated.
Among the sports, cricket is most popular, registering 68 percent of the total bet count analyzed by Esse N Videri. Football takes second position with 11 percent of the bets, followed by betting on FIFA at 7 percent and on eCricket at 5 percent. The last position in the Top 5 of popular sports for betting in India is taken by tennis with 3 percent of the bet count.
Local Citizens will Still have Their Teer Betting
Meghalaya residents will still be permitted to participate in teer betting over arrow-shooting results. Teer is a traditional method of gambling, somewhat similar to a lottery draw, and held under the rules of the Meghalaya Regulation of the Game of Arrow Shooting and the Sale of Teer Tickets Act, 2018.
Teer includes bettors wagering on the number of arrows that reach the target which is placed about 50 meters away from a team of 20 archers positioned in a semicircle.
The archers shoot volleys of arrows at the target for ten minutes, and players place their bets choosing a number between 0 and 99 trying to guess the last two digits of the number of arrows that successfully pierce the target.
If, for example, the number of hits is 256, anyone who has bet on 56 wins an amount eight times bigger than their wager.
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