Mahadev App Case: Actor Sahil Khan, 3 Others Summoned For Questioning Today

The Special Investigating Team (SIT) of Mumbai cyber cell, which is investigating the Rs 15,000 crore Mahadev App online betting case, has issued summons to actor Sahil Khan and three others.

They have been instructed to appear before the SIT on Friday for questioning.

Earlier, Dubai Police on Tuesday arrested Ravi Uppal, one of the two prime accused in the Mahadev Book online betting syndicate. Uppal is also the alleged co-promoter of the app.

According to the sources, the arrest was made by Dubai police based on a red corner notice issued by Interpol at the behest of ED. Uppal will be extradited to India soon.

Uppal is facing a money laundering case being probed by the Enforcement Directorate. He is named as accused in the case in which allegations of kickbacks were made against outgoing Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel.

As per officials, Dubai Police arrested Uppal following a Red Corner notice issued against him at the behest of the Enforcement Directorate.

Sources said that Dubai authorities conveyed this to Indian officials soon after the arrest of Uppal and showed their willingness to deport him, as he is wanted in India for his alleged involvement in money laundering worth nearly Rs 6,000 crore.

Red Corner notices were issued against Uppal and Sourabh Chandrakar, the other promoter and mastermind of the illegal betting syndicate, who is also in the UAE, in October this year.

A Red Corner notice was issued against both of the accused after the Enforcement Directorate moved a special court in Raipur and obtained a non-bailable warrant against them.

After the arrest of Uppal, it is learned that Chandrakar may be arrested soon.

The development comes months after a lavish wedding held this February in the United Arab Emirates caught the attention of the Enforcement Directorate, as the entire money around Rs 200 crore spent on the bash was paid entirely in cash.

At his wedding held in Ras AlKhaimah, Chandrakar hired private jets to ferry family members from Nagpur to the UAE and paid celebrities from the film industry to perform, according to the ED.

In the Mahadev betting app case, there are allegations of fraud of 15,000 crore rupees along with match-fixing, illegal hawala, and cryptocurrency transactions.

The Enforcement Directorate had filed a charge sheet in connection with the Mahadev online betting app case. According to the officials, 14 accused have been named in the charge sheet, namely Sourabh Chandrakar, Ravi Uppal, Vikas Chhapariya, Chandra Bhushan Verma, Satish Chandrakar, Anil Dammani, Sunil Dammani, Vishal Ahuja, Dheeraj Ahuja, Srijan Associates through Punaram Verma, Shiv Kumar Verma, Punaram Verma Shiv Kumar Verma, Yashoda Verma and Pawan Nathani.

According to the Enforcement Directorate, the Mahadev Online Book Betting app is an umbrella syndicate arranging online platforms for enabling illegal betting websites to enroll new users, create user IDs, and launder money through a layered web of Benami bank accounts.

The ED in mid-September this year released details of its investigation into the online money laundering case linked with the Mahadev Online Book Betting App. Wedding planners, dancers, decorators etc, were hired from Mumbai and hawala channels were allegedly used to make payments in cash, the agency had said.

The agency said Chandrakar and Ravi Uppal who hail from Bhilai in Chhattisgarh are the two main promoters of the Mahadev betting platform and ran their operations from Dubai. They had created an empire for themselves in that country.

The agency had recently conducted searches at 39 locations across Raipur, Bhopal, Mumbai and Kolkata and seized illegal assets worth Rs 417 crore. ED has also earnestly taken up investigation abroad.

A Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) special court at Raipur has also issued non-bailable warrants against the suspects. The ED which is investigating money laundering charges in connection with the Mahadev Online Book app had also conducted searches in Chhattisgarh and arrested four accused including the chief liaisoner of the betting syndicate, which the probe agency alleged was organizing payment of bribes to senior government functionaries as ‘protection money’. ED had stated that it has successfully identified other major players involved in the money laundering operations of the app.

The Directorate of Enforcement (ED) is investigating the Mahadev Book Online Betting APP syndicate, in which the promoters of this betting syndicate are allegedly sitting abroad and remotely running thousands of panels across India with the help of their friends and associates.