Saurabh Chandrakar, the promoter of the Rs 6,000 crore Mahadev Betting scam, has been formally arrested by UAE authorities on charges of money laundering. The arrest follows a coordinated operation involving the Enforcement Directorate (ED), the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), and the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA).
According to sources, the MEA received the UAE court’s order confirming Chandrakar's arrest on Thursday. ED officials have stated that the documentation required for Chandrakar’s extradition is in its final stages, and a formal extradition request will be sent to the UAE authorities soon.
Chandrakar had previously been under house arrest in the UAE. However, his formal arrest, which took place last week, was officially communicated to Indian authorities on Thursday. The arrest was facilitated by a Red Corner Notice (RCN) issued through Interpol at the request of the ED. Following his apprehension, Chandrakar was produced before a UAE court, and the detailed court order has been shared with Indian officials.
71 Cases Registered By Chhattisgarh Police
Chhattisgarh Police have registered 71 cases related to the Mahadev betting scam across various police stations in the state. Additionally, the State Economic Offences Investigation and Anti-Corruption Bureau has lodged another case. Beyond Chhattisgarh, Chandrakar is also wanted in Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Delhi, West Bengal, and other states. The ED and Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) are ramping up efforts to apprehend him.
The ED has filed three prosecution complaints in the Mahadev betting app case, with nine out of 19 accused already arrested. Additionally, the Mumbai Crime Branch and the Chhattisgarh Economic Offences Wing (EOW) have filed chargesheets, naming Chandrakar as the primary accused.
India’s anti-money laundering agency, the ED, has been pursuing Chandrakar’s extradition from the UAE for over a year.
Further Details On ED Probe
The ED's probe has also revealed that earlier one of the promoters, Ravi Uppal was arrested by the UAE authorities in pursuant of the Interpol Red Corner Notice (RCN) issued against him. Subsequently the agency has sent a request through the competent authority to extradite him Both Uppal and Saurabh Chandrakar have renounced their Indian passports and acquired citizenship in the Oceania country of Vanuatu. This small South Pacific nation has become a popular destination for individuals seeking citizenship-by-investment schemes, a loophole that Chandrakar exploited to evade detection.
ED’s probe had revealed that the Mahadev betting app is an alleged umbrella syndicate arranging online platforms for enabling illegal betting websites to enrol new users, create User IDs and laundering of money through a layered web of benami bank accounts.The ED in its earlier chargesheets has said that the promoters had invested the alleged proceeds of crime (PoC) in crypto currency, bogus diamond trade, stock and offshore real estate.
In a supplementary prosecution complaint filed by the ED in December last year, it was alleged that Mahadev Online Book and its subsidiary betting apps, such as Fairplay, Anna Reddy, Laser Book, Gold365, Lotus 365, and Lion King, were generating average monthly earnings of ₹450 crore, at the rate of ₹3 lakh per panel per month.
The federal anti-money laundering agency further claimed that one of the accused, Asim Das, the courier, allegedly delivered the money to former Chhattisgarh chief minister Bhupesh Bagel. The agency also said that examination of the email sent by another accused Shubam Soni revealed that so far Rs 508 crore was allegedly paid to Baghel.
The investigation also revealed that Chandrakar had heavily invested in the stock market through shell companies, channeling funds from the betting scam into these companies to launder money.
Over 2 Dozen Illegal Betting Platforms Banned
Following ED investigations, the government has banned over two dozen websites involved in laundering money from illegal offshore betting platforms disguised as e-commerce and forex trading portals. These include OctaFX, Fairplay, Magicwin, Mahadev Online Book, and 30 others operated by promoters based in Spain, Dubai, Russia, and Pakistan. According to the ED's western region probe, the PoC has been estimated at Rs 10,000 crore, with an all-India estimate doubling this figure.
