'Govt Now Travel Agency For Fraudsters': Congress Hits Out At Centre Over Chinese Betting App 'Scam'

Congress leader Pawan Khera said either PM Narendra Modi did not know what was happening in Gujarat or he turned a blind eye.

Congress leader Pawan Khera

New Delhi: Hitting out at the Centre over the uncovering of a fraudulent football betting app ‘Dani Data’, involving a Chinese national, the Congress on Friday questioned how Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah were unaware of this racket even as the accused stayed in the country between 2020 and 2022.

According to reports, the mastermind behind the operation, Woo Uyanbe, hailing from the Shenzhen region in China, allegedly duped around 1,200 people, resulting in an estimated theft of Rs 1,400 crore within a span of just nine days.

Addressing a press conference at the party headquarters in Delhi, Congress leader Pawan Khera said, “How could the Chinese national stay in the sensitive towns of Gujarat, bordering Pakistan, and dupe 1,200 people of Rs 1,400 crore within a span of nine days? How is it possible that the scam went unnoticed and the Chinese national had a free run in robbing people of this money?”

गुजरात में 'चीनी घुसपैठ' हुई है।

गुजरात में एक चीनी नागरिक ने 9 दिनों में 1400 करोड़ रुपये की चपत लगाई और गायब हो गया।

यह उस समय की घटना है जब PM मोदी चुनाव प्रचार के लिए अक्सर गुजरात जाया करते थे।

आखिर उस समय पुलिस क्या कर रही थी ?

: @Pawankhera जी pic.twitter.com/6iP2xbF6VS

— Congress (@INCIndia) August 18, 2023

Further taking potshots at PM Modi and Union minister Amit Shah, the Congress leader said, “How did the alleged accused operate the app in a state where both PM Modi and Union minister Amit Shah hail from? Either the Prime Minister did not know what was happening or he turned a blind eye.”

Demanding a White Paper on the scam, Khera said he wondered where were the agencies like Economic Offences Wing (EOW), Enforcement Directorate (ED), Department of Revenue Intelligence (DRI), Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) when the people were being “looted”.

READ | Football Betting App Scam: Gujarat Police Uncover Rs 1,400-Crore Fraud, 1,200 Users Allegedly Duped Within 9 Days

Hitting out the Centre over boasting about having banned several Chinese apps, Khera said, “It is no longer the issue of uninstalling an app, but changing the entire software, that has been infested with the virus, in 2024. This government seems to have become a travel agency for fraudsters and scamsters like Nirav Modi, Vijay Mallya and now Woo Uyanbe, by facilitating their flights from India after committing frauds.”

Meanwhile, speaking about the Chinese betting app case, additional DGP, CID, Crime Rajkumar Pandian, said that 175 people from Gujarat were duped of Rs 3.54 crore, reported news agency PTI.

VIDEO | "This is not a Rs 1,400 crore scam, 175 people from Gujarat were victims and they lost Rs Rs 3.54 crore," says Additional DGP, CID, Crime Rajkumar Pandian on Chinese betting app case. pic.twitter.com/Bv3pzFaCH0

— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) August 18, 2023

“This is not a Rs 1,400 crore scam, 175 people from Gujarat were victims and they lost Rs 3.54 crore. If the theft was of Rs 1400 crore then each person would have incurred a loss of over Rs 1 crore,” Pandian said.