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Mahadev app scam: Inter pass supplied 4K SIMs to operators who defrauded ₹6,000 crore
UP STF arrests two Deoria residents from Lucknow for allegedly operating the network in India, recovers 276 SIM cards
Over 4,000 corporate SIM cards were procured since January 2023 on fake company profiles and documents and were supplied to Mahadev gaming application operators in Dubai, to commit a fraud worth over ₹6000 crore.
The man who procured these SIMs was a 25-year-old intermediate pass-out from east UP’s Deoria district, senior officials of UP Special Task Force (STF) said here, on Friday.
The STF officials said crucial information has been extracted from this Deoria resident, Abhay Singh, about the Mahadev App fraud after his arrest along with an aide, Sanjeev Singh, from near Shaheed Path service road, opposite Summit building, in Vibhuti Khand, on Thursday. They said that the Enforcement Directorate officials concernedd have been informed about their arrests and information extracted from them.
The ED initiated investigation in the matter under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) in August 2023 after multiple FIRs of fraud and cheating in Chhattisgarh since 2021. The Chhattisgarh police made several arrests, and seizure of assets before the ED came into action.
STF officials said that these fraudsters used the platform which offered card games like ‘Teen Patti’, poker, ‘Dragon Tiger’ and virtual cricket games, among others to dupe people through different WhatsApp and Telegram groups. They said the platform has also been accused of match-fixing, money laundering through cryptocurrency and rigging games to ensure profits for panel owners and heavy losses for players.
They said the duo revealed that after the ED’s action against Mahadev App, the gang was running Reddy Anna Book, Fairplay, Lotus 365 and other apps.
A senior STF official said Abhay Singh, with help of Sanjeev Singh, floated fake companies to procure corporate postpaid SIM cards and sent over 4,000 postpaid SIM cards after getting them ported to different telecom services.
He said Abhay Singh earlier used to procure around 30-35 prepaid SIM cards on forged identity proofs per month between June 2021 to December 2023 and sent it to Mahadev app operators in Dubai.
He said Abhay Singh used to get a fixed salary of ₹25,000 per month from the app operators and ₹500 incentive per SIM card, so that he used to earn around ₹35-40,000 per month.
He said Abhay’s salary was increased to ₹75,000 per month by the operators when they gave him the target to procure postpaid corporate SIM cards in January 2023 and gave incentive of ₹2,000 per SIM card. “For name’s sake, he was given the position of India head, and he continued to work for them for around two and half years. He travelled to Gorakhpur, Varanasi and Prayagraj and as far as Jaipur, Pune, Mumbai and Odisha to procure corporate SIM cards.
“As many as 276 corporate SIM cards including 138 each of VI and Airtel were recovered from them at the time of his arrest. Besides, a luxury car, four expensive mobile phones, documents and jewellery was recovered from them,” said STF additional superintendent of police (ASP), Vishal Vikram Singh. He further said that Abhay Singh got connected to Dubai-based operators through his cousin Abhishek Singh, who works for them and stays in Dubai.
He said Abhay Singh is connected to Chetan Joshi and Shubham Soni alias Pintu, both residents of Bhilai in Chhattisgarh’s Durg. He said Joshi and Pintu operate from Dubai and Abhay operated from India as directed by them.
Ravi Uppal, 43, one of the two masterminds of the Mahadev application, was detained in Dubai after the ED asked Interpol to issue a red notice in the case in October 2023. The ED authorities are currently in touch with Dubai authorities to have Uppal deported to India. Uppal and Sourabh Chandrakar, 28, the duo originally belongs to Bhilai, Durg, have been based in Dubai for nearly two years.
About Mahadev App fraud
Investigations so far revealed a wide network providing illegal betting in various games operated by Mahadev Online betting included card games, cricket, badminton and tennis, and even extended to allowing bets on Indian elections. Mahadev Online Book operations not only maintained websites and closed chat groups but also tried to lure people into illegal betting. The ED investigation even led to the questioning of politicians and Bollywood stars in relation to the scam.
