Sports presenter Shefali Bagga surrenders ₹1.2 crore to ED for promoting Mahadev betting app

The agency claims she promoted the platform, which is linked to illegal betting activities generating ₹75-80,000 crore in proceeds of crime.

Television sports presenter Shefali Bagga, under investigation for her alleged role in the high-profile Mahadev betting app case, has surrendered ₹1.2 crore to Enforcement Directorate (ED), the balance sum she is accused of receiving to promote betting apps on the Mahadev platform, according to the ED.

“Yes, my role was limited to unknowingly promoting a few brands on social media, similar to the promotional engagements undertaken by many public figures and celebrities,” Shefali Bagga told HT on Wednesday. (File Photo)

In May, the agency had seized ₹30 lakh during searches of Bagga’s Delhi and Mumbai residences, taking the total she received to ₹1.5 crore, which the ED alleges is part of the proceeds of crime of the Mahadev syndicate.

The Mahadev scam, one of the largest illegal betting syndicates in the country, involves an online betting platform that enabled gambling on poker, card games and various sports tournaments. Operated from Dubai by the platform’s co-promoters Sourabh Chandrakar and Ravi Uppal, who hail from Chhattisgarh, the platform expanded its network through franchisees and laundered money through a complex network of benami bank accounts.

The ED, which says Bagga has denied knowledge of illegalities linked to the Mahadev betting apps, has informed the special court in Raipur, Chhattisgarh, hearing the case that she has surrendered the sum she is accused of accepting for promotional activities. Bagga, also a former Big Boss contestant, currently has over 5.6 million followers on social media platforms at the time.

During the investigation, Bagga had “expressed her will to surrender” the remaining amount of ₹1.2 crore to the ED. Subsequently, she furnished two demand drafts worth ₹50 lakh and ₹70 lakh to the ED’s Raipur unit, which is leading the agency’s multi-state probe into the case since 2022.

Statements were taken from Bagga, her father and her brother in July. “Yes, my role was limited to unknowingly promoting a few brands on social media, similar to the promotional engagements undertaken by many public figures and celebrities,” Bagga told HT on Wednesday.

“Beyond this, I had no involvement or association with any other activities or operations relating to those brands or any other entity. I have cooperated with the department’s investigation, surrendered the money and have full faith in our law,” said Bagga, whose statement has been recorded by the ED as a “witness statement”.

Celebrities under scanner

As part of its probe, the ED had in 2023 placed under its scanner over a dozen celebrities, including actors from television and cinema, who allegedly promoted the betting platform in lieu of payments, ED officials said. These celebrities were alleged to have received payments allegedly generated through illegal online betting activities on the Mahadev platform.

The ED had in October 2023 summoned actor Ranbir Kapoor for questioning for his alleged promotional activities on social media for one of the many betting or gaming apps on the mahadev platform. While HT could not reach Kapoor for his comments, his then business manager had said, “I am not aware about this issue. I am not in a position to comment on this as I am not in Mumbai.”

Apart from celebrities, the ED had suspected that 100-odd social media influencers and a few sports personalities, including three foreign cricketers, had been paid to endorse the 60-odd apps and websites on the Mahadev betting and gaming platform. Some of them had been summoned to the ED’s Raipur office.

Scam worth ₹75,000 crore

The ED, which has pegged the proceeds of crime generated by the Mahadev platform at ₹75-80,000 crore, has submitted six chargesheets in the case, against 116 accused persons and entities, before the special Raipur court.

While the Indian government has blocked and banned the platform, the ED’s chargesheet filed in July said the platform is still in operation. It added that “majority of the proceeds of crime generated by the syndicate was layered and transferred to the promoters based in Dubai”.

When the Mahadev scam broke, it took law-enforcing agencies by surprise. Before they floated the platform, the two alleged masterminds, Chandrakar and Uppal, ran a juice shop and a small betting enterprise in Bhilai. Four after they decided to collaborate, the Mahadev Online Book (MOB), as the platform is also known, was incorporated as ‘Mahadevbook Markets Limited’ in the Caribbean on June 21, 2021.

Chandrakar was detained in Oman in June and the Indian government tis seeking his extradition. There are pending Interpol red corner notices against both Chandrakar and Uppal.