ED confirms asset seizures in probe linked to YouTuber’s Dubai cruise wedding
By Mazhar Farooqui
India’s Enforcement Directorate (ED) has confirmed searches, asset seizures and money-laundering allegations against YouTuber and social media influencer Anurag Dwivedi, days after reports linked a Dubai cruise wedding to enforcement scrutiny back home.
In an official statement issued on Thursday, the ED said it conducted searches at 10 premises across Lucknow, Unnao and Delhi as part of an investigation into alleged illegal online betting and gambling activities under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
Dwivedi had hosted a lavish wedding aboard a cruise vessel in Dubai earlier this month, flying guests from his home village in Uttar Pradesh to the UAE.
According to the ED, the searches resulted in the seizure of four vehicles, including a Lamborghini Urus, along with cash and what the agency described as incriminating documents.
The ED said it has also frozen bank accounts, fixed deposits and insurance-linked assets amounting to around Rs 3 crore (Dh1.23 million), and provisionally attached movable assets worth approximately Dh10 million.
The investigation, initiated on the basis of a police complaint registered by West Bengal Police, centres on alleged illegal online betting operations. The ED said Dwivedi allegedly played a significant role in promoting illegal betting platforms through YouTube channels and social media.
According to the agency, he is accused of receiving proceeds of crime from illegal betting apps through hawala channels and routing the funds into personal, family and company accounts without legitimate commercial justification. The ED said its probe revealed that Dwivedi had acquired immovable properties outside India, particularly in Dubai, using funds allegedly generated through the promotion and facilitation of illegal betting websites.
The agency said Dwivedi has since left India, adding that multiple summons were issued to him, but he failed to appear before investigators.
