34 celebrities who attended MOB success party in Dubai under ED scanner

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) is investigating a group of 34 celebrities, including actors from Bollywood and the southern film industry, who allegedly attended a party organized by the Mahadev Online Book (MOB) betting platform in Dubai. The ED has issued fresh summons to MOB's Dubai-based promoters and plans to summon the celebrities to record their witness statements regarding alleged payments received for attending the event. The ED is also conducting searches at the premises of a film production firm in connection with its probe against MOB.

MUMBAI: A group of 34 celebrities, including actors from Bollywood and the southern film industry, who allegedly attended the September 2022 ‘success party’ of the Mahadev Online Book (MOB) betting platform in Dubai are under the Enforcement Directorate (ED) scanner.

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The agency on Friday also issued fresh summons to MOB’s Dubai-based promoters, Saurabh Chandrakar and Ravi Uppal, who are wanted in its money laundering probe as well as in the probes of the state police in Chhattisgarh and Andhra Pradesh. The agency put up its summons notices at the residences of Uppal and Chandrakar in Bhilai, Chhattisgarh.

The group of 34 celebrities under the ED scanner include several A-list actors from the Bollywood - south Indian film industry as well as prominent television personalities, agency sources said. ED will summon these celebrities to record their witness statements in connection with alleged payments received by them in lieu of attending the event organised at a luxury hotel in Dubai in September 2022, agency sources said.

The ED on Thursday said it had summoned actors Huma Qureshi and Hina Khan, and comedian Kapil Sharma for questioning in connection with its probe against MOB. On Monday, the agency had issued a summons to actor Ranbir Kapoor who sought two weeks’ time to appear before its Raipur office to record his witness statement. The other celebrities have also sought more time to appear, sources said.

ED sources said Qureshi, Khan and Sharma were among the celebrities who had either attended MOB’s party held at a five-star hotel in Dubai last September or for endorsing MOB’s betting platform. Their statements will be recorded as those of ‘witnesses’ but the agency will later evaluate, based on evidence, whether it needs to take any further steps against them, sources said.

ED is also probing around 100 social media influencers who were being paid by MOB to promote its 60 betting and gaming apps and websites.

Box: ED conducts searches at film production house

The agency on Friday also carried out searches at the premises of a film production firm in Andheri, which is under the scanner for its monetary transactions with the MOB’s top functionaries. The searches were carried out at six locations, the sources said. The firm is under the scanner of the ED for its alleged receipt of funds via hawala channels from MOB promoter Chandrakar, for investment in the making of movies, the sources said. The firm is currently involved in the production of a Marathi movie with an A-list Bollywood star.