The Mahadev app was run by Dubai-based Saurabh Chandrakar, who was a former juice seller, and his accomplice Ravi Uppal, both of whom hail from Chhattisgarh, according to the ED.
The Mahadev app case is a high-profile scandal involving an online betting platform that enabled illegal gambling on various games, such as poker, card games, badminton, tennis, football and cricket.
The Mahadev online betting app case is back in the spotlight after the Enforcement Directorate (ED) claimed it recorded the statement of a 'cash courier' who alleged Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel received Rs 508 crore from the app promoters based in the UAE, triggering a political row ahead of the state Assembly polls.
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Several Bollywood celebrities, including Ranbir Kapoor, Shraddha Kapoor, Huma Qureshi, Kapil Sharma, Boman Irani and Hina Khan, have been summoned by the ED for questioning in the case.
According to the ED, they are suspected of having accepted substantial sums of cash as payment for their participation or performances at events organised by the promoters of the app. The ED's investigation revealed that the Mahadev app was being run from Dubai and used an online book betting application to enroll new users and launder money through a layer of benami bank accounts.
Chandrakar and Uppal are suspected of amassing around Rs 5,000 crore through the Mahadev app. The operations also involved rigging of games to ensure profits for panel owners and heavy losses for players.
The probe agency has consolidated at least seven FIRs filed by victims who lost their money to the scam, with FIRs spanning locations such as Goa, Mumbai, Visakhapatnam, Ahmedabad and Chhattisgarh.
The ED's investigation into the case was triggered by Chandrakar's lavish Rs 250 crore wedding in the UAE in February, which was attended by several Bollywood actors, including Tiger Shroff and Sunny Leone. Popular singers, including Neha Kakkar, performed at the event, probe agency sources said.
The probe agency has alleged that the app operated by franchising "panel/branches" to known associates on a 70-30 profit ratio, using the platform to enroll new users, create IDs, and launder money through a complex network of Benami bank accounts. The operation reportedly generated an astounding Rs 200 crore daily.
The case took a dramatic turn when an email statement from a 'cash courier' revealed that Mahadev app promoters had allegedly paid bribes worth Rs 508 crore to Baghel. The Chhattisgarh Chief Minister has dismissed the claims, saying it was an attempt to tarnish his image. The ED has also seized over Rs 5 crore in cash, which was allegedly sent by the Mahadev app promoters.
ED investigation into Chandrakar's lavish wedding resulted in the uncovering of alleged hawala operations and connections in the UAE and Pakistan. Chandrakar and Uppal joined hands with gangster Dawood Ibrahim's brother Mushtaqeem Ibrahim Kaskar to develop a similar betting app for Pakistan called 'Kheloyar', sources told Indiatoday.in.
The ED has already conducted raids on several premises linked to hawala operators across various Indian cities, resulting in the attachment of Rs 417 crore. In a recent raid in Mumbai, the probe agency also identified seven hawala kingpins allegedly involved in money laundering.
On October 21, the ED filed its first chargesheet in the case, naming 14 accused, including Chandrakar and Uppal. The probe agency has provisionally attached Rs 41 crore worth of proceeds of crime.
What do we know about Mahadev app?
The Mahadev app facilitated unlawful gambling on a variety of online activities, including poker, card games, games of chance, as well as sports like badminton, tennis, football, and cricket. The app is reportedly managed by Chandrakar and Uppal from Dubai. The duo actually hails from Bhilai, Chhattisgarh.
The app had many branches in India.
These branches recruited agents who earned commissions of 6 per cent to 8 per cent when clients placed bets. Payments were mainly made through UPI-based systems. According to a report by the Hindustan Times, the app's credibility received a significant boost as it attracted 30-40 lakh customers through word-of-mouth referrals.
According to a report by The Indian Express, the app commenced its operations in 2017, but its user base experienced a substantial surge during the pandemic in 2020, and this upward trend continued through 2022. The app came under scrutiny of ED, following the Rs 200-crore grand wedding of Chandrakar held in UAE. The entire amount spent on the bash was paid in cash.
According to the probe agency, the wedding planners, dancers, decorators, among others, were hired from Mumbai and hawala channels were used to make payments in cash.
A hawala system is an informal value transfer system based on trust and personal relationship and operates outside of traditional banking channels. Funds are transferred via a network of hawala brokers, with each broker trusting the next in the chain to make good on the transaction.
ED, in its report, said, "Large scale hawala operations are done to siphon off the proceeds of betting to off-shore accounts. Large expenditure in cash is also being done in India for advertising of betting websites and self-grandizement necessary to attract new users (sic)."
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Not long ago, the ED had frozen and seized assets worth Rs 417 crore in connection with the money laundering case following searches at 39 locations. Money was transferred from owners Saurabh Chandrakar and Ravi Uppal in Dubai to hawala operators Sunil Damani and Anil Damani in Chhattisgarh’s Raipur to Assistant Sub-Inspector Chandrabhushan Verma and finally to bureaucrats and politicians, the ED has claimed.
While these operations had been going on for a while, it was founder Chandrakar's Rs 200-crore lavish wedding in Ras Al-Khaimah, Dubai that brought the app into the crosshairs of the probe agency.
Reportedly, star studded wedding had witnessed performances by Vishal Dadlani, Tiger Shroff, Sonakshi Sinha, Atif Aslam, Sunny Leone, Neha Kakkar, Ali Asgar, Bharti Singh, Bhagyashree, Pulkit Samrat, Elli Avram and Rahat Fateh Ali Khan.
“In February 2023, Saurabh Chandrakar got married at RAK, UAE, and for this marriage ceremony, the promoters of Mahadev APP spent around Rs 200 Crore in Cash,” the ED said in a statement dated September 15.
The ED added that the event management company received Rs 112 crore via hawala transactions (which included costs of private jets) and Rs 42 crore in cash in UAE currency, which was used to make hotel reservations.
“Mahadev Book maintains various websites and operates a number of closed groups on chat apps. They provide a contact number over the website. This number can only be contacted over WhatsApp. Once a user contacts this number, he will be provided two separate contact numbers. One contact number is to be contacted for depositing money and collecting points in IDs used to make bets. The second number is for contacting the website to encash the accumulated points in the designated IDs,” ED documents accessed by News18 said.
“The IDs are generally created on multiple websites like laser247.com, laserbook247.com, betbhai.com, betbook247.com, tigerexch247.com, cricketbet9.com etc depending on the need and preference of ‘betters’…. All the games are rigged in a manner that overall the panel (franchise) owners will not lose money and despite initial profits to the user, ultimately, they are likely to lose money,” it added.
The ED has further noted that money was siphoned from Dubai by Saurabh and Ravi, who hail from Chhattisgarh, and brothers Sunil Damani and Anil Damani arranged for its distribution in India to bribe politicians and policemen.
The ED has come down heavily on those associated with the company, and it is likely that the probe agency is going to escalate things, given the involvement of high-profile personalities.
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