₹15,000 cr MOB betting scam: Court grants bail to alleged app operator

Dixit Kothari allegedly opened a Paytm bank account on behalf of a witness by promising to pay him ₹2,000 per month which was used to launder proceeds of crime

MUMBAI: The sessions court has granted bail to 27-year-old Dixit Kothari, one of the first persons to be arrested by the Mumbai police crime branch in connection with the Mahadev Online Book (MOB) betting scam worth ₹15,000 crore.

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Additional sessions judge VM Pathade on Monday granted bail to Kothari as he was not convinced of his alleged role in the case. “I am not convinced as to the alleged role of the applicant (Kothari) in the crime and invocation of the offences against the accused,” said the court.

According to the crime branch, the investigating agency, MOB is an umbrella syndicate of online platforms which host illegal betting websites to enroll new users, create user IDs and launder money through a layered web of benami bank accounts. The crime branch alleges that proceeds generated through these gambling activities were invested by the accused in real estate, hotels and other business activities, causing revenue loss worth ₹15,000 crore to the government.

Additional public prosecutor Iqbal Solkar submitted that Kothari is the main operator of one of the betting apps hosted on the MOB platform, called Lotusbook8.com. He said Kothari opened a Paytm bank account on behalf of a witness by promising to pay him ₹2,000 per month which was used in the commission of the crime. Kothari’s WhatsApp chats revealed he kept in touch with various national and international mobile numbers, with whom he had financial transactions, he further submitted, noting that Kothari did not disclose any details about other major players involved in the case for whom he ran the web portal.

Kothari’s advocate Agasthya Desai submitted that his client was falsely implicated in the matter, noting that he has no connection with the alleged scam. The bank account linked to the website lotusbook8.com was of Subhash Ramola, in Punjab National Bank, he said, and Kothari had not received any money collected through it. The defense also submitted that the investigating agency cannot invoke provisions of the Maharashtra Prevention of Gambling Act against Kothari.

The court observed that there was no clarity regarding the amount that Kothari allegedly received in the bank account and the investigating agency had not placed on record any material to link the Paytm bank account with the betting case.

The court also took note of the bail granted to co-accused Sahil Khan in the same case and granted bail to Kothari. Khan, an actor and fitness trainer, who has acted in Bollywood films like Style and Excuse Me was granted bail by the sessions court earlier this month.

The FIR in the MOB betting scam case was registered last year by the Matunga police. The case was later transferred to the crime branch, leading to the formation of the SIT. The betting app, allegedly run by promoters Saurabh Chandrakar and Ravi Uppal from Dubai, has led to many raids and arrests.