GST department crackdown on PariMatch, one official arrested: Reports

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The Directorate General of GST Intelligence has initiated action for evasion of tax by Pari Match  which operates online betting and gambling platform in India, reported India Today. A company official has also been arrested in the case as per reports.

This is not first time such development is reported. In August 2022, we reported on the arrest of country head of Pari Match. The illegal platform later denied the arrest.

Although it is not legal to engage in gambling or place bets online in India, several entities incorporated outside India run operations in India with shady structures.

The recent reports on Pari Match state since the company is not registered in the country, a large amount of Indian money was being routed and sent abroad, as a result of which India was losing crores of GST. Such abroad remittances of proceeds of betting and gambling also violate foreign exchange laws.

The Directorate General of GST Intelligence has been set up to investigate those evading payment of GST. Pari Match and its transactions were being monitored by the department for the last couple of days. The Ukraine based entity is also part of sanctions imposed by Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy as part of crackdown on Russian linked business operators.

According to officials in the know of the matter, Parimatch not only deals in online gambling and betting but it is also associated with football and kabaddi leagues in India. Pari Match in surrogate manner is associated with teams in these professional leagues.

During investigation, the Directorate General of GST Intelligence also found that the money of some of the country’s eminent leaders and Bollywood celebrities was also parked with the company. Investigation is underway.

Cricketers Dale Steyn, Arshdeep Singh, and Dinesh Karthik are associated with this illegal online gambling brand as ambassadors.

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