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ED attaches ₹941-cr assets in Mahadev, Skyexchange probe
ED officials said the attached assets belong to Garg, his family members and entities owned or controlled by him. The properties include residential units, land parcels, equity shares and other securities
MUMBAI: In its crackdown on the Mahadev Online Book (MOB) betting syndicate, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) has attached ₹940.77 crore worth of assets linked to businessman Vikas Garg, alleging the properties were purchased using money laundered through illegal betting operations of MOB and Skyexchange platforms.
ED officials said the attached assets belong to Garg, his family members and entities owned or controlled by him. The properties include residential units, land parcels, equity shares and other securities.
According to the agency, proceeds of crime from the alleged betting syndicates were laundered through a multi-layered network of shell entities, accommodation entries and layered financial transactions to disguise the funds as legitimate.
Investigators alleged that ₹940.77 crore was routed through entities linked to Garg before being used to acquire shares, securities and other assets.
The ED launched its probe in 2022 based on FIRs registered by police in Chhattisgarh, Andhra Pradesh and West Bengal against the operators, promoters and associates of the betting platforms for offences including criminal conspiracy, cheating and forgery.
The agency claims the MOB is one of the largest illegal betting syndicates unearthed in the country which operated from abroad, including Dubai, through a franchise-based network and generated more than ₹450 crore every month from alleged illegal betting.
So far, the ED has issued seven provisional attachment orders and filed multiple prosecution complaints against several accused, including wanted co-promoters Sourabh Chandrakar and Ravi Uppal. Chandrakar was detained in Oman last month and is awaiting his extradition to India.
Following the latest attachment, the total value of assets attached, including seized or frozen in the case has aggregated to around ₹3,800 crore.
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