Rs 5,000 Crore Bets on India vs New Zealand Champions Trophy Final Linked to Underworld: Sources
March 8, 2025: Massive Illegal Bets Placed on India-New Zealand Final
The Champions Trophy 2025 final between India and New Zealand, set to take place in Dubai on Sunday, has drawn illegal bets worth nearly ₹5,000 crore, according to sources tracking betting syndicates. Investigators reveal that international bookies have made India the favoured team, with Dubai becoming a hub for high-stakes gambling controlled by underworld networks, including Dawood Ibrahim’s ‘D-Company’.
Delhi Police’s Crime Branch has intensified its crackdown on betting operations, leading to the arrest of at least five major bookies. These arrests, made during the semi-finals, have uncovered direct links between betting networks in India and Dubai.
Also Read: Champions Trophy Final: Virat Kohli Suffers Knee Injury in Training, Stops Practice
Among those arrested are Parveen Kochhar and Sanjay Kumar, caught red-handed placing live bets on the India-Australia semi-final using laptops and mobile phones. Authorities recovered multiple electronic devices and evidence of transactions.
Kochhar reportedly purchased a master ID from an online betting site, lucky.com, which he used to create multiple betting accounts and sell them to punters. The syndicate earned a 3% commission on each transaction. For offline betting, the bookies used phone calls and manually recorded bets based on fluctuating betting odds.
Kochhar had been running his betting operation from a rented house in Delhi for ₹35,000 per month and earned around ₹40,000 daily. He admitted during interrogation that the entire operation was controlled from Dubai.
Investigations have revealed several key players running the illegal betting business from Dubai, including:
Delhi Police have also arrested Manish Sahani, Yogesh Kukeja, and Suraj, who are allegedly connected to Dubai-based betting operations. ₹22 lakh in cash was recovered from them.
Sahani, identified as the primary operator of the gang, managed transactions and voice-recorded all betting activities to maintain control. He confessed that he bypassed middlemen, directly handling operations through bank accounts and cash transactions.
Authorities also identified Mannu Matka, Akshay Gehlot, Nishu, Rinku, and Aman Rajput as developers of a ‘Satta’ betting app, created outside India for large-scale gambling activities.
With the final match between India and New Zealand just hours away, law enforcement agencies are on high alert to curb illegal betting activities. Authorities have intensified efforts to track financial transactions and digital footprints linked to Dubai-based underworld figures involved in the betting racket.
As the investigation unfolds, more arrests are expected, with police determined to dismantle this multi-crore illegal gambling syndicate.
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