Lagatar24 Desk
New Delhi, Sep 15: In connection with the Mahadev online betting case, the Enforcement Directorate has frozen and seized assets worth Rs 417 crore, officials stated on Friday.
They said that the organization founded by Sourabh Chandrakar and Ravi Uppal, which operated out of Dubai, was using the online book betting application to sign up new users, create user IDs, and launder money via a complex network of benami bank accounts.
According to a statement from the agency, “The ED has recently conducted wide spread searches against the money laundering networks linked with Mahadev APP in cities like Kolkata, Bhopal, Mumbai etc. and retrieved large amount of incriminating evidences and has frozen/seized proceeds of crime worth Rs 417 crore.”
Mahadev Online Book App is reportedly managed from a central head office in the United Arab Emirates, according to the ED probe. It runs on a profit ratio of 70% – 30% and operates by franchising “Panel/Branches” to their known associates, ED stated.
Large-scale hawala operations are carried out to divert betting winnings to offshore accounts. Significant financial resources are also being used in India to advertise betting websites in an effort to draw in fresh users and franchise (panel) seekers, it said.
The promoters of the company are from the city of Bhilai, Chhattisgarh and the Mahadev Online Book Betting application is an umbrella syndicate that organizes online platforms for facilitating illegal betting websites.
