ED Summons Former Indian Cricketer Robin Uthappa In Money-Laundering Case

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has summoned former Indian cricketer Robin Uthappa for questioning on Sept. 22, on account of an online betting-linked money-laundering case.

Uthappa is the latest of many Indian sporting personalities to be called by ED for promoting betting apps and being involved in money-laundering cases - a list that includes the likes of Shikhar Dhawan and Suresh Raina.

Born in Karnataka, Uthappa played in 46 One-Day Internationals for India and 13 T-20 Internationals, notably winning the 2007 T-20 World Cup.

Uthappa had a much bigger legacy in the Indian Premier League, where he featured in over 200 matches across six teams and scored almost 5,000 runs.

The wicket-keeper batsman notably won the IPL title with Kolkata Knight Riders in 2014, winning the Orange Cap in the process. He later won it with the Chennai Super Kings in 2021.

In the recent past, several actors, cricketers and celebrities have been held accountable for endorsing online betting and gambling apps.

As mentioned earlier, Raina and Dhawan were the latest ones to have been summoned by ED for questioning, with Uthappa now joining the list.

Some of the other notable celebrities to be summoned include Mahesh Babu, Urvashi Rautela and even ex-Trinamool MP Mimi Chakraborty.

Although the exact details of ED's summons to Robin Uthappa are not yet known, the former Indian cricketer was part of the Sportsbaazi campaign that tried to paint live sports trading as a field of discipline, data and decision-making.

Uthappa, in the past, had also partnered with Sportiqo, a blockchain-based fantasy sports platform, starring a digital campaign that headlined "Khel On, Trade On".