ED finds irregularities in ticket sales for Coldplay, Diljit Dosanjh's concerts after raids; BookMyShow responds

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Saturday had said that it has found irregularities after it conducted raids in a money laundering investigation into "black marketing" of tickets for Coldplay and Diljit Dosanjh's 'Dil-Luminati' concerts.

The searches were done on Friday at 13 locations across five states including Delhi, Maharashtra (Mumbai), Rajasthan (Jaipur), Karnataka (Bengaluru) and Punjab (Chandigarh).

Usually, tickets are available on platforms like Zomato, BookMyShow and others but when the demand is very high, these tickets sell out quickly, leading people to seek alternate sources, the agency said.



BookMyShow responds
A BookMyShow (BMS) spokesperson, said that in its ongoing fight against ticket scalping and black marketing of tickets for Coldplay's Music Of The Spheres World Tour 2025 in India, the company had lodged a formal FIR on October 2, 2024. "This action follows our initial complaint filed proactively with the Mumbai Police on September 23, 2024, addressing these concerns much before any formal complaint was raised against us," the spokesperson added.

BookMyShow’s FIR filed with the Mumbai police also urges authorities to investigate the unauthorised resale of tickets by individuals and platforms. "We have provided details of all resellers that have come to our attention, including independent individuals reselling tickets for this tour across social media platforms such as Instagram, WhatsApp and beyond, as also digital platforms such as Viagogo, Stubhub Holdings and more, to aid authorities in a thorough investigation," BMS added.

"Our stance remains clear and unchanged – BookMyShow vehemently condemns and opposes ticket reselling which is deemed illegal and is punishable by law in India. We would also like to clarify that Coldplay's Music Of The Spheres World Tour 2025 in India will proceed as planned. Reports contrary to this are factually incorrect," it added.

Dil-Luminati, Cold Play concerts
While the 'Dil-Luminati' concert by Dosanjh was held over the weekend on October 26-27 at the Jawaharlal Nehru (JLN) stadium in the national capital, the Coldplay event 'Music of the Spheres World Tour' is slated for January 2025 at Navi Mumbai.

The ED said in a statement that it initiated an investigation after numerous reports emerged that individuals and fans were being "deceived/cheated" through "fraudulent" ticket sales after the rapid sellout of entry passes.

The agency took cognisance of multiple police FIRs filed in the case across the country, including one filed by online ticket booking portal BookMyShow, against several suspects "believed to be exploiting concert-goers."

The FIR alleges that these individuals engaged in selling counterfeit tickets and drastically inflated prices, taking advantage of the high demand for these coveted concerts, the ED said.


It said these concerts were an "electrifying" and "highly anticipated" announcement for music enthusiasts across India.

"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," the ED said in a statement.

The agency said that several incriminating materials like mobile phones, laptops, SIM cards have been found. These were used in the ticket sales "scam" and have been seized.

The searches were aimed at investigating the illegal sales of tickets, financial networks supporting these scams, and tracing the proceeds of crime generated from such illegal activities, it said.