CID nabs 3 bookies of BetWinner for laundering money abroad via cryptocurrency

The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) arrested three Bangladeshi agents of online gambling site BetWinner who allegedly smuggled money abroad by converting it into dollars via cryptocurrency.

BetWinner is an online betting site owned and managed by Cyprus-based Marikit Holdings Ltd which is being operated from Russia. According to the CID, Bangladesh has become a popular hub for online betting in recent days.

Such online betting sites like BetWinner are not legal in Bangladesh.

Recently, Bangladesh cricketstar Shakib Al Hasan came under fire for being the ambassador of Betwinner News, a sister concern of BetWinner. Later Shakib was forced to terminate the controversial contract.

The arrestees are – Abu Bakr Siddique, 30, Abdullah Al Awal, 26, and Toraf Hossain, 37. They were arrested from Chouddagram of Cumilla last night (August 31, 2022).

"This site is used by people from the less educated to slightly-educated background from rural areas of the country. In the last four months, the gang has smuggled Tk 4 crore out of the country," CID's Special Superintendent of Police Rezaul Masud told a press briefing at the CID headquarters in Dhaka's Malibagh area today.

"CID's Cyber Police Centre noticed BetWinner during regular monitoring. Later, three Bangladeshi agents involved with the management of the site were identified and arrested," he added.

The CID official described how these betting sites are being operated.

A gambler opens an account on these betting sites or apps using a phone number or email. An e-wallet is created against the account that gamblers call USDT.Initially, its balance is zero. There are many ways to add balance to the wallet, including via local mobile financial services. After choosing any one of the MFS, money is added to e-wallet or USDT by paying a minimum of Tk 500 to an agent number. One can gamble using this balance.

The police official said that the agents of the MFS withdraw the deposited money and convert that to US dollars via a money-exchange app -- Binance.

Binance is a cryptocurrency exchange which is the largest in the world in terms of daily trading volume of cryptocurrencies.

Later this money is smuggled to different countries through the app. These three arrested have smuggled Tk 4 crore from Bangladesh in the last four months, he added.

During the arrest, six mobile phones, four agent SIM cards, two merchant SIMs, one DSO SIM for cash, two personal SIMs, and a laptop were seized from them, among others.