The Enforcement Directorate has filed its second prosecution complaint before a special court in Raipur in a money laundering investigation linked to the Mahadev app alleged online betting scam.

This document will now be shared with the UAE as part of government’s efforts to extradite Mahadev app promoters Sourabh Chandrakar and Ravi Uppal, who are in Dubai, sources said.

The first ED chargesheet was filed on October 21, 2023, and named 14 people. The second one, of about 1,700-1,800 pages, was filed on January 1 in the special PMLA court and names five accused – Chandrakar, Uppal, alleged cash courier Asim Das, police constable Bheem Singh Yadav, an executive linked to the app, Shubham Soni. The court is yet to take cognisance of the prosecution complaint. The next hearing is on January 10.

This development comes around a week after reports emerged that Chandrakar and Uppal have been put under house detention in Dubai on the basis of an Interpol red corner notice issued against them at the behest of the ED.

The two are from the steel city of Bhilai.

Asim and Bheem were arrested by the ED less than a week before the assembly polls in Chhattisgarh in November last year. The ED had said it seized Rs 5.3 crore from Asim and issued a statement that its investigation indicated that the then chief minister of Haryana Bhupesh Baghel was “paid Rs 508 crore” by the Mahadev app promoters and further investigation was needed. Baghel called it a “joke” and Congress rejected all the allegations.

In the thick of elections, Shubham Soni released a video statement claiming to be the owner of Mahadev app and saying that he had paid protection money to politicians and people linked to them so that the racket could run smoothly.

The ED had said “illegal proceeds” from the app were used to bribe politicians and bureaucrats in the state. The central agency has summoned many celebrities and Bollywood actors for questioning regarding the mode of payment and their links to the online betting platform.

The ED, in its statements, claimed that the Mahadev app scam amounts to about Rs 6,000 crore.

Source: The Times of India

The Enforcement Directorate has filed its second prosecution complaint before a special court in Raipur in a money laundering investigation linked to the Mahadev app alleged online betting scam.

This document will now be shared with the UAE as part of government’s efforts to extradite Mahadev app promoters Sourabh Chandrakar and Ravi Uppal, who are in Dubai, sources said.

The first ED chargesheet was filed on October 21, 2023, and named 14 people. The second one, of about 1,700-1,800 pages, was filed on January 1 in the special PMLA court and names five accused – Chandrakar, Uppal, alleged cash courier Asim Das, police constable Bheem Singh Yadav, an executive linked to the app, Shubham Soni. The court is yet to take cognisance of the prosecution complaint. The next hearing is on January 10.

This development comes around a week after reports emerged that Chandrakar and Uppal have been put under house detention in Dubai on the basis of an Interpol red corner notice issued against them at the behest of the ED.

The two are from the steel city of Bhilai.

Asim and Bheem were arrested by the ED less than a week before the assembly polls in Chhattisgarh in November last year. The ED had said it seized Rs 5.3 crore from Asim and issued a statement that its investigation indicated that the then chief minister of Haryana Bhupesh Baghel was “paid Rs 508 crore” by the Mahadev app promoters and further investigation was needed. Baghel called it a “joke” and Congress rejected all the allegations.

In the thick of elections, Shubham Soni released a video statement claiming to be the owner of Mahadev app and saying that he had paid protection money to politicians and people linked to them so that the racket could run smoothly.

The ED had said “illegal proceeds” from the app were used to bribe politicians and bureaucrats in the state. The central agency has summoned many celebrities and Bollywood actors for questioning regarding the mode of payment and their links to the online betting platform.

The ED, in its statements, claimed that the Mahadev app scam amounts to about Rs 6,000 crore.

Source: The Times of India