The Karnataka High Court vide an order dated 8 July has given an interim stay on an FIR and proceedings against the directors of a payment gateway Asian Checkout. The company is incorporated in 2016 with registered office located in Uttar Pradesh.
The complaint against the UP-based company’s directors was filed by Shivarudraswamy C, from Sulibele, Bengaluru, who lost Rs 1,500 on a bet. He found that the money he lost was not credited to the betting company Parimatch but to another account.
Aggrieved, Shivarudraswamy filed a complaint against Shivam Kumar and Umesh Goyal, directors of Asian Checkout Pvt Ltd for cheating, fabrication of records among other allegations.
The company acts as a payment gateway for the Parimatch betting app. It is not clear what kind of license Asian Checkout holds from Reserve Bank of India to facilitate payments towards betting. According to the 2020 payment aggregator framework, only firms approved by the RBI can acquire and offer payment services to merchants.
Senior counsel Sandesh J Chouta appeared for the accused in the HC where they have filed a petition seeking quashing of the case pending against them before the Principal Civil Judge and JMFC Court, Hoskote.
Justice M Nagaprasanna who heard the petition issued an emergent notice to the complainant Shivarudraswamy.
Advocate Chouta demonstrated to the court through documentary evidence that the complainant had participated in the betting on the Parimatch app on his own accord and lost Rs 1,500.
“On account of loss, he registers a complaint on the ground that Rs 1,500 that he lost did not go into the account of Pari Match company, but is credited into the account of some other company,” the HC said in its interim order. A case was registered on this allegation made by the complainant.
Earlier, we reported that online payment companies were under RBI scanner for having links with betting companies.
