The Enforcement Directorate has begun probe into the alleged illegal sale of tickets for much-anticipated shows of music band ‘Coldplay’ and actor-singer Diljit Dosanjh in India. On Friday, the central agency conducted searches in five states and seized digital devices including mobile phones used for the “scam”.
The ED said the searches were conducted at 13 locations in five states on Friday and several ‘incriminating’ materials were seized. The searches were undertaken on Friday at 13 locations in five states–Delhi, Maharashtra (Mumbai), Rajasthan (Jaipur), Karnataka (Bengaluru) and Punjab (Chandigarh)–in connection with a money laundering case it has registered over the alleged black market sales of Coldplay and Diljit Dosanjh’s ‘Dil-Luminati' show tickets.
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The ED said in a tweet, “ED, New Delhi conducted search operations in Delhi, Mumbai, Jaipur, Chandigarh, Bangalore in relation to illegal sale of tickets of Coldplay and Diljeet Dosanjh’s Dilluminati concerts. During the search operations, several incriminating materials such as mobile phones, laptops, sim cards etc, used in the scam were recovered and seized.”
The central agency investigating financial crimes said the probe was launched after several concert-goers complained they were deceived by black marketeers and were sold fake tickets at exorbitant prices. The ED launched the probe taking cognisance of FIRs registered across the country, including one on BookMyShow’s complaint about the illegal resale of tickets. The agency said its probe was aimed at investigating the illegal sales of tickets, financial networks supporting these scams, and tracing the proceeds of crime generated from such illegal activities, PTI reported.
The ED, in a statement, said, “Searches and investigation conducted by ED has revealed information regarding multiple individuals known for providing such tickets, including fake tickets through social media using Instagram, WhatsApp and Telegram.”
Dosanjh will begin the Indian leg of his 'Dil-Luminati' tour with performance over the weekend, on October 26-27, at the Jawaharlal Nehru stadium in Delhi. The Coldplay event 'Music of the Spheres World Tour' is slated for January 2025 at Navi Mumbai. The British band will perform three shows in India.
Both BookMyShow and Zomato, the official ticketing partners of Coldplay and Dosanjh’s shows respectively, said the tickets were sold out in just minutes on their platforms, which "ultimately led to black-marketing of tickets at exorbitant prices”.