An arrest warrant has been issued against Robin Uthappa, former Indian international and television commentator over an alleged fraud case. The 39-year-old IPL icon is being accused of deducting employee provident funds (EPF) from the salaries of several employees of a firm run by him. If the former Chennai Super Kings batter fails to pay the dues that amount to almost Rs 24 lakh by December 27, Friday, he will face arrest.
Robin Uthappa, the director of Bengaluru-based Centaurus Lifestyle Brands Pvt Ltd, allegedly deducted the PF from the salary of his employees but didn't deposit the sum into their accounts, NDTV reported.
As a consequence of the non-remittances of dues, the company failed to settle the Provident Fund Accounts of the poor workers, Regional Provident Fund Commissioner - II and Recovery Officer Shadakshara Gopal Reddy reportedly found out. So, a sum of (appx) Rs 23,36,602 should be recovered from the former cricketer by December 27, Reddy wrote to jurisdictional Pulakeshinagar police. The arrest warrant was issued on December 4, the report added.
Uthappa has played 59 international matches for India (46 ODIs, 13 T20Is) and has been a popular player in the Indian Premier League. He has scored a total of 1,183 runs and has seven half-centuries to his name in international cricket and amassed 4,952 runs from 205 IPL games. The half-Keralite cricketer, who can also put on the gloves behind the stumps, represented six different IPL teams during his illustrious career before picking up the commentator's microphone.