From juice vendor to betting kingpin: How Sourabh Chandrakar built ₹6,000 crore empire

A court in Raipur has issued an extradition order for Sourabh Chandrakar, which is now being sent to the UAE authorities.

Published on: Oct 11, 2024, 15:27:48 IST

By HT News Desk

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Sourabh Chandrakar, who once ran a small juice shop in Chhattisgarh's Bhilai, is expected to be extradited to India after his arrest in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) following an Interpol red notice. Chandrakar, one of the main promoters of the Mahadev app, was arrested in the alleged ₹6,000 crore betting scam linked.

Sourabh Chandrakar, main accused in the Mahadev Online Book App during his wedding

In a coordinated effort to bring Chandrakar back to India, federal agencies including the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and Chhattisgarh Police are processing extradition documents through the ministry of external affairs, Hindustan Times reported.

On Thursday, a court in Raipur issued an extradition order for the alleged scammer, which is now being sent to the UAE authorities, the report added.

Chandrakar and his business partner, Ravi Uppal, have been under “house detention” in Dubai since December of last year. Enforcement Directorate had alleged in November 2023 that the duo paid bribes of ₹508 crore to the then Chharrisgarh chief minister Bhupesh Baghel.

Chandrakar started with a juice shop in Bhilai before teaming up with co-promoter Ravil Uppal to run the Mahadev betting app from Dubai. They moved to Dubai in 2019, NTDV reported.

The duo expanded its operations by setting up call centres in key cities across Malaysia, Thailand, the UAE, and India to create subsidiary apps for online betting.

In Chhattisgarh and other states, about 30 call centres were managed with the support of Sunil Damani and Anil Damani, trusted associates of Chandrakar and Uppal, the report added.

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) claims that the network included approximately 4,000 panel operators spread across various states in India, each managing around 200 customers placing bets.

Through this operation, the duo allegedly generated at least ₹200 crore daily, allowing them to establish a criminal empire in the UAE.

The ED's chargesheet claims that Chandrakar married in Ras Al Khaimah, UAE, in February 2023, with around ₹200 crore in cash spent on the event.

Chandrakar's wedding saw around 17 Hindi film celebrities and his relatives flown in by chartered flights. The celebrities reportedly performed at the ceremony and were allegedly paid crores of rupees through hawala for their appearances, the federal agency alleges.

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HT News Desk
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