New Delhi, October 26
The Directorate of Enforcement (ED) has conducted search operations in Delhi, Mumbai, Jaipur, Chandigarh, and Bengaluru in connection with the illegal sale of tickets for Coldplay and Diljeet Dosanjh’s Dilluminati concerts.
During the search operations, several incriminating materials including mobile phones, laptops, sim cards etc. used in the scam were recovered and seized, the ED said. This move comes after multiple FIRs were registered in various states regarding fraudulent ticket sales.
The concerts – Diljeet Dosanjh’s “Illuminati” and Coldplay’s “Music of the Spheres World Tour” generated immense excitement, leading official ticketing partners, Bookmyshow and Zomato Live, to report that tickets sold out in just minutes on their platforms.
However, this demand has led to black-marketing of tickets at exorbitant prices, with fans discovering that they were sold fake tickets or charged exorbitant prices for legitimate ones.
Multiple FIRs have been filed in various states across the country including an FIR filed by Bookmyshow against several suspects believed to be exploiting concertgoers.
The FIR alleges that these individuals have engaged in selling counterfeit tickets and drastically inflating prices, taking advantage of the high demand for these coveted concerts.
ED has initiated an investigation under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002, and conducted searches on 25.10.2024 at multiple locations in five states of Delhi, Mumbai, Jaipur, Bengaluru and Chandigarh at more than 13 locations under provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) where several incriminating materials such as Mobile phones, laptops, sim cards etc used in the scam were seized.
This action was aimed to investigate the illegal sales of tickets and the financial networks supporting these scams and to trace the Proceeds of Crime generated from such illegal activities.
Searches and investigations conducted by ED have revealed information regarding multiple individuals known for providing such tickets including fake tickets through social media using Instagram, WhatsApp, and Telegram.
