ED arrests two more accused in MOB app case

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has made two fresh arrests in Chhattisgarh in its money laundering probe against the Mahadev Online Book (MOB) betting app and its Dubai-based promoters. The arrested individuals are accused of assisting in the concealment of proceeds of crime from MOB's illegal betting operations. The ED has so far made eight arrests in the case and has seized/frozen movable properties worth ₹572.41 crore. Chargesheets have been filed against 19 accused persons/entities, including MOB promoters.

MUMBAI: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Friday made two fresh arrests in Chhattisgarh in its money laundering probe against the Mahadev Online Book (MOB) betting app and its Dubai-based promoters. The newly arrested persons Nitin Tibrewal and Amit Agrawal are accused of knowingly assisting in the layering/concealment of the proceeds of crime emanating out of MOB’s illegal betting operations.

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ED’s investigations have revealed that Agrawal, brother of a charge-sheeted co-accused, Anil Kumar Agrawal, a suspected MOB partner, allegedly utilized part of the proceeds of crime generated by MOB in purchasing assets in his name and his wife’s name. To fund these purchases, Agrawal allegedly arranged for bank entries of ₹2.5 crore in his and his wife’s bank accounts against cash, an ED source said.

In the statements recorded by ED, Agrawal said that the funds that came into the bank accounts were loans. However, the entry operator involved in the transactions has revealed the true nature of its source to the agency. The ED, therefore, has accused Agrawal of knowingly assisting in concealing proceeds of crime, the source said.

“Nitin Tibrewal tried to conceal this fact despite multiple opportunities granted to him. He also did not reveal his foreign bank accounts and assets before the agency. The accounts, however, were discovered by the agency during the investigation,” the source said. The ED has accused Tibrewal of knowingly assisting in layering the proceeds of crime by investing the money in his name and through associated Indian and foreign entities.

The agency arrested the duo on Friday evening in Raipur, Chhattisgarh. They were produced before the special PMLA court in Raipur that remanded them in ED custody till January 17.

The ED so far has made eight arrests in the case. In 2020, ED initiated the money laundering probe based on cases registered by Chhattisgarh police against MOB and its Dubai-based promoters, Saurabh Chandrakar and Ravi Uppal, and several others, in 2022.

The MOB betting app is an online platform that enables illegal betting websites to enroll new users, create user IDs, and launder money through a layered web of Benami bank accounts. MOB earns around ₹450 crore per month from its illegal betting activities, said the source.

The ED has so far seized/ frozen movable properties totaling ₹572.41 crore after carrying out searches at the premises of accused persons. Two provisional attachment orders were issued, attaching movable and immovable properties valued at ₹142.86 crore.

The ED has submitted two chargesheets in the case so far. The first one was filed on October 20, 2023, and the second on January 1 this year, against 19 accused persons/entities, including MOB promoters, both of whom are currently under 24/7 surveillance and custody of the authorities in Dubai and are likely to be extradited to India.