Start extradition process of MOB co-promoter Chandrakar: ED to MEA

ED seeks extradition of Sourabh Chandrakar, co-promoter of online betting platform MOB, from UAE. Chandrakar and Uppal allegedly made huge profits through illegal betting sites.

MUMBAI: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has requested the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) to initiate the process of extraditing 28-year-old Sourabh Chandrakar, co-promoter of the alleged online betting platform Mahadev Online Book (MOB), from the United Arab Emirates (UAE), agency sources said. The MEA is the central authority for processing extradition requests.

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Owner of a small juice shop in Raipur till 2017, the Dubai-based Chandrakar was placed under round-the-clock surveillance in December 2023 based on the ED’s request. This was to ensure that he does not flee to another country. Around the same time, Ravi Uppal, his fellow co-promoter, also based in Dubai, was taken into custody by authorities. The former owner of a small tyre shop is likely to remain under detention in the UAE till India’s request for his extradition is processed by courts there.

According to the ED, MOB hosts approximately 60 illegal betting sites, with nearly 2,000 branches/ franchisees spread across India. Chandrakar and Uppal, who controlled the business from Dubai, allegedly made a profit of ₹30-40 lakh per branch per month until the crackdown. They are among 14 accused named in the ED’s first charge-sheet in the MOB case, which was submitted before a special PMLA (Prevention of Money Laundering Act) court in Raipur in October 2023.

To press for their extradition, the ED has pointed towards pending Red Corner Notices (RCN) against them, which were issued by Interpol late last year. The agency had approached Interpol via the Central Bureau of Investigation after Chandrakar and Uppal failed to honour summons issued in September 2023, and the ED’s application for issuance of open-ended non-bailable warrants against the duo was upheld by a special court in Raipur, said sources. On September 4, 2023, the Raipur special court issued warrants against Chandrakar and Uppal for their arrest and production before the court.

The ED’s investigation so far has revealed that MOB started operations in 2019 when Chandrakar and Uppal began building an online betting empire through ersatz call centres that operated via closed WhatsApp and Telegram groups. They used benami bank accounts to receive and launder money, opting for a franchisee model which ensured they kept 70% of the profits while the remaining 30% went to franchise holders. In 2021, MOB was incorporated as “Mahadevbook Markets Limited” in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines in the Caribbean.

Meanwhile, Chandrakar and Uppal moved to Dubai and bought assets in the UAE, London, Sri Lanka and Australia with their ill-gotten wealth, the ED alleges. In February 2023, Chandrakar got married at a lavish ceremony at Ras Al-Khaimah in the UAE which cost over ₹200 crore, according to the agency. That money too is under investigation as proceeds of crime.

Till now, the investigating agency has submitted two chargesheets in court and arrested nine out of the 19 named accused in the case. It has also seized/frozen assets worth ₹572.41 crore in the country and abroad, including assets worth ₹100 crore in Dubai, mostly comprising offices and villas allegedly used by MOB to lodge its employees.