Maharashtra Cyber Police makes first arrest in illegal IPL broadcast case

Badshah (centre) with Jacqueline Fernandez and Sanjay Dutt in a FairPlay advertisement

The Maharashtra cyber police made its first arrest during the investigation of the illegal broadcast of IPL 2023 on FairPlay. The arrested individual - Gulam Abbas Muni, 51 - operates Orange Advertising Company based in the Khar area. The cyber police have now summoned actress Tamannaah Bhatia and have already recorded statements from others including rapper Badshah and the managers of Sanjay Dutt and Jacqueline Fernandez. Muni is accused of providing a video featuring Dutt and Fernandez to ‘Joe Paul', who works for FairPlay.

Badshah at the cyber police office in October. File Pic/Shadab Khan

Maharashtra Cyber Superintendent of Police Sanjay Shintre revealed that FairPlay promoted the videos of these actors, which were later utilised on various platforms for their promotion. Muni allegedly handed over the videos to the wanted accused Joe Paul in a pen drive. It is reported that Dutt received R25 lakh for promoting FairPlay, while Fernandez received Rs 2 crore and Badshah received R6.5 crore for creating promotional videos.

The Maharashtra cyber police are preparing to question other individuals involved in promoting FairPlay during IPL 2023. Along with Tamannaah Bhatia, social media influencer Suhana Khan and actress Amyra Dastur have been summoned for questioning.

Money flowing from abroad

Gulam Abbas Muni

During the Maharashtra cyber police investigation, it was revealed that FairPlay paid artists from different companies. Dutt received funds from the account of a company named Play Venture in Curacao. Badshah received money from Lycos Group FZ LLC in Dubai, while Fernandez received funds from Trim General Trading LLC, also based in Dubai.

Millions sent to Pak monthly

In the same FIR, the cyber police implicated an application named ‘Pikasho'. Investigation revealed that the money earned through Google AdSense for this application was being sent to banks in Pakistan. According to sources, Pikasho offers pirated copies of new films and web series, and the advertising revenue received through Google is deposited in bank accounts under the names ‘Rasheed' and ‘Junaid' in the city of Rahim Yar Khan, Pakistan. Police are currently investigating these applications for their use in earning money illegally.

The complaint in the case was filed with the Maharashtra cyber police by Viacom 18 after the company found that apps including Fairplay were telecasting IPL 2023 matches without having any rights. As per the FIR, Viacom 18's anti-piracy team has been vigilant about apps illegally telecasting their content. They identified multiple apps such as KASHOW, FOKI, VEDU, SMART PLAYER LITE, WOW TV and FairPlay that telecasted Tata IPL 2023 without any rights or collaboration with Viacom 18. An officer emphasised that this constituted a violation of intellectual property rights, as per law. Viacom 18 claimed a loss of Rs 100 crore.

Viacom 18 statement

"The unlawful streaming made it imperative for us to intervene promptly. After almost a whole year of persistence, we now have one of the perpetrators behind bars. In such cases, prompt action is of utmost importance. The damage caused was not just financial but also to our reputation," Anil Lale, general counsel, Viacom 18 Media Pvt Ltd, said regarding the matter.