Gangtok, 17 Sep : Numerous Bollywood actors and singers graced the wedding celebration of Sourabh Chandrakar, the promoter of the Mahadev Book app, which took place in the UAE, according to sources within the Enforcement Directorate (ED). The ED is currently investigating the online betting platform along with its promoters.
In February, Sourabh Chandrakar, one of the two promoters of the Mahadev Book app, tied the knot in a lavish ceremony held in the UAE. The event saw the attendance of prominent figures from the Bollywood industry, including renowned actors Tiger Shroff and Sunny Leone. Notably, the wedding ceremony also featured stellar performances by popular singers like Neha Kakkar.
The ED sources disclosed that among the notable guests at the event were Atif Aslam, Rahat Fateh Ali Khan, Ali Asgar, Vishal Dadlani, Elli AvrRam, Bharti Singh, Bhagyashree, Kriti Kharbanda, Nushrratt Bharuccha, and Krushna Abhishek. The presence of these celebrities at Sourabh Chandrakar’s wedding was captured in a video clip.
According to insiders at the ED, actors and singers were invited to the wedding in exchange for fees paid by a Mumbai-based event management company. Additionally, it was revealed that other promoters of the Mahadev app spent a staggering sum of nearly Rs 200 crore in cash to facilitate Chandrakar’s wedding. This included the chartering of private jets to transport family members from Nagpur to the UAE for the extravagant affair.
The Mahadev Book app, an online betting platform, is currently under scrutiny by the ED and various state police departments. Based on the digital evidence gathered by the Enforcement Directorate, it was discovered that Rs 112 crore was routed through hawala channels to an event management company, while an additional Rs 42 crore was disbursed in cash to cover hotel expenses, as disclosed by the sources.
ED SEIZES ASSETS WORTH Rs 417 CRORE
Despite the ongoing crackdown by the Enforcement Directorate (ED), assets totaling Rs 417 crore have been frozen and seized in relation to the Mahadev online betting case. This significant development followed ED raids on eight cash courier units (known as Angadias), as reported by officials to news agency PTI on Friday.
The company, jointly promoted by Sourabh Chandrakar and Ravi Uppal, was operating out of Dubai and was suspected of utilizing the online book betting application to recruit new users, establish user IDs, and engage in money laundering through a complex network of undisclosed bank accounts.
Chandkar and Uppal, initially operating as local bookies running small businesses such as juice and tire shops, have purportedly amassed an astonishing fortune exceeding Rs 6,000 crore from the Mahadev Book app.
In a statement, the ED alleged, “The ED has recently conducted widespread searches against the money laundering networks linked with the Mahadev app in cities like Kolkata, Bhopal, Mumbai, etc., and retrieved a large amount of incriminating evidence and has frozen/seized proceeds of crime worth Rs 417 crore.”
According to officials, the ED’s investigation has revealed that the Mahadev Online Book App is administered from a central head office based in the UAE. The app operates through the franchising of “Panel/Branches” to known associates on a 70-30 profit-sharing ratio, as disclosed by the ED.
Large-scale hawala operations are employed to divert the proceeds from betting to offshore accounts. Additionally, substantial cash expenditures are made in India for the purpose of advertising betting websites, aiming to attract new users and franchise seekers, according to the ED.
The promoters of the company originate from Bhilai in Chhattisgarh, and the Mahadev Online Book Betting application functions as an overarching syndicate that facilitates online platforms for illicit betting websites.
As part of its investigation into the Mahadev Book app case, the ED had previously apprehended four individuals, including a police assistant sub-inspector with alleged ties to the political advisor of the Chief Minister of Chhattisgarh.
