ED freezes assets worth ₹130.57 crore in Mahadev Online Book case

The agency has so far conducted searches at more than 110 locations across the country, including Maharashtra, as part of its inter-state investigation

MUMBAI: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has frozen assets worth ₹130.57 crore during searches carried out in Kolkata on Thursday as part of its investigation into the allegedly illegal online betting activities of the Mahadev Online Book (MOB) platform. The frozen assets included securities, bonds, and Demat accounts.

ED freezes assets worth ₹130.57 crore in Mahadev Online Book case

The agency has so far conducted searches at more than 110 locations across the country, including Maharashtra, as part of its inter-state investigation. It has seized, frozen or attached immovable and movable assets valued at an estimated ₹2,426.18 crore in the case.

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 ED has arrested 12 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.

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.