ED attaches assets worth ₹388 crore in money laundering case against Mahadev Online Book

The ED has attached assets worth ₹387.99 crore linked to the Mahadev Online Book platform for illegal online betting and money laundering activities.

MUMBAI: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Thursday provisionally attached assets worth ₹387.99 crore as part of its investigation into the allegedly illegal online betting activities of the Mahadev Online Book (MOB) platform.

ED attaches assets worth ₹388 crore in money laundering case against Mahadev Online Book

The attached assets are in the form of movable and immovable properties in Mumbai, Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh, which are allegedly registered in the names of the multiple betting apps/websites, branch operators of the platform and associates of its promoters, according to ED officials.

The attached movable properties include an investment made by a Mauritius-based company, M/s Tano Investment Opportunities Fund, linked to a certain Hari Shankar Tibrewal through the Foreign Portfolio Investment (FPI) and Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) routes, officials added.

According to the ED, Mahadev Online Book was an umbrella syndicate that allegedly set up platforms for illegal betting in sports such as cricket, football, tennis, and badminton, as well as card games like poker and teen patti. The syndicate allegedly laundered money through a layered web of benami bank accounts.

The ED had initiated its investigation into MOB in 2022 based on cases registered by the Chhattisgarh police. Later, the agency also took on record cases registered by the police in other states, including Andhra Pradesh. The cases were registered under sections 120B (criminal conspiracy), 420 (cheating), and 471 (using as genuine a forged document), among others, of the Indian Penal Code, as well as certain sections of the Prevention of Corruption (Amendment) Act, 2018.

The investigation has led to the seizure/freezing of cash worth ₹19.36 crore and valuables totalling ₹16.68 crore in the case. The agency has also frozen movable assets in the form of bank balances and securities having a total value of ₹1,729.17 crore. The ED has arrested 11 people and filed four charge sheets (prosecution complaints) against the arrested accused and others before a special court for cases under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002, in Raipur.

Earlier, the agency had attached assets worth ₹142.86 crore in the case. In all, the agency has seized, frozen, or attached proceeds of crime worth around ₹2,295.61 crore in the case so far.

MOB’s main promoters, Sourabh Chandrakar and Ravi Uppal, were detained by the Dubai police in December last year after Interpol issued Red Corner Notices (RCN) against them in October 2023. The RCNs, which warrant arrest/detention of accused persons globally, were issued after the PMLA court put out non-bailable warrants against the duo on the ED’s request. Indian agencies, including the ED, are working through diplomatic channels to get them extradited.

According to the FIR, the promoters organised illegal online betting through panel/branch operators. The branch operators, who earned around ₹450 crore per month through the betting platform, then transferred the money to the promoters in the United Arab Emirates through various bank accounts. The promoters allegedly kept 70%-80% of the earnings and distributed the rest among the branch operators.

Several police officers, administrative officers and politicians allegedly misused their positions and acquired illegal assets in the form of protection money from the promoters, the FIR added.