Police book MOB promoters, bookies for duping people of ₹15,000 crore

Founder and promoter of Mahadev Online Book (MOB) platform, Saurabh Chandrakar, and his associate Ravi Uppal have been booked for allegedly running illegal betting operations and cheating people of ₹15,000 crore. The accused are currently based in Dubai and have been accused of money laundering and evading investigation.

Police on Tuesday registered a case against the founder and promoter of Mahadev Online Book (MOB) platform, Saurabh Chandrakar, his associate Ravi Uppal, and 30 bookies for allegedly running illegal betting operations and cheating people to the tune of ₹15,000 crore.

Police book MOB promoters, bookies for duping people of ₹15,000 crore

The action followed an order from a metropolitan magistrate court at Kurla on Monday, who acted on a complaint lodged by Prakash Bankar, a social worker, said an officer attached to Matunga police station.

“Both promoters - Chandrakar and Uppal - hail from Chhattisgarh but are currently based in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Who have also booked their accomplice Shubham Soni,” the police officer said.

The complainant has named various betting apps and has claimed that the accused are protected by politicians and bureaucrats and the money is being laundered out of the country via hawala channels, and even used by criminals. The duo has invested the money in hotels and various properties, Bankar alleged.

“Bankar has told us how the online betting racket operates and has claimed that since 2019 the accused have earned around ₹15,000 crore but have not paid taxes. He has also named London-based bookies who are part of the racket and run various apps. We have started investigation into the matter,” the police officer said.

The complainant told the police that since 2019 advertisements of betting apps had been popping up online and people had been lured with faces of various actors. They were asked to place bets on cricket, football, tennis, teen patti, and other forms of games, Bankar said.

The accused have been booked under section 420 (cheating), 465 (forgery), 467 (forgery of valuable security), 468 (forgery for the purpose of cheating), 471 (using as genuine a forged document) and 120B (criminal conspiracy) of the Indian Penal Code and sections of the Maharashtra Prevention of Gambling Act, 1887, and the Information Technology Act.

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has sought Interpol’s help to issue a red corner notice against Chandrakar and Uppal. The agency has alleged that they are evading investigation and not appearing before it for questioning.

Chandrakar and Uppal are among the 14 people, other than a firm, named as accused in the agency’s first chargesheet submitted before a special PMLA (Prevention of Money Laundering Act) court in Raipur in Chhattisgarh.

The MOB platform is suspected of being operational in several countries, including Sri Lanka, Australia, England, and Caribbean nations.