Mumbai: Several prominent Bollywood celebrities, including Ranbir Kapoor, Shraddha Kapoor, Huma Qureshi, Kapil Sharma, and Heena Khan, have been summoned by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in connection with the Mahadev betting app case. The anti-money laundering agency has asked the celebrities to present at their Mumbai office as part of its ongoing investigation. While Ranbir Kapoor has requested a one-week time to appear before the ED, Kapil Sharma and Huma Qureshi visited the ED’s office on October 5, in connection with the Mahadev betting scam case.
What is Mahadev’s betting app case?
The Mahadev Gaming app is an online betting platform that enables users to gamble on a wide range of live games, including poker, card games, badminton, tennis, football, and cricket. It also offers various card games like Teen Patti and Poker, along with virtual cricket games. The app operates through closed groups on different instant messaging platforms and reportedly generates staggering daily revenues of around ₹200 crores. In connection with the Mahadev online betting case, the Enforcement Directorate has frozen and seized assets worth ₹417 crore.
Modus Operandi
According to the investigation, the perpetrators posted contact numbers on websites to lure people into playing and making profits. These numbers could only be reached through platforms like WhatsApp. When a user contacts the given number, they receive two separate contact numbers. One was for depositing money and receiving points in user IDs used for betting, while the other was for contacting the website to cash out the points in the assigned IDs. All the games on the platform were rigged to ensure that the panel owners did not incur losses. Despite initial profits for users, they were ultimately likely to lose significant sums.
Mastermind Behind Mahadev Betting Scam
The main promoters of the Mahadev app, Sourabh Chandrakar and Ravi Uppal, are based in Bhilai, Chhattisgarh, but have been operating their business from Dubai. Payments were made through bank accounts that were either fraudulently opened or obtained for a commission. Chandrakar’s company is believed to have amassed around Rs 5,000 crore through this scam. According to reports, the Mahadev online betting app has been networked from its UAE headquarters to India, Sri Lanka, Nepal, and Pakistan. They are also believed to have links in Pakistan as well as connections with local businessmen and hawala operations.
The ED’s investigation into this case came to light after a lavish wedding that took place in the United Arab Emirates in February of this year. Organized by company owners Sourabh Chandrakar and Ravi Uppal, approximately ₹200 crore was reportedly paid in cash for this wedding.
At his wedding held in Ras Al-Khaimah, Sourabh Chandrakar hired private jets to fly family members from Nagpur to UAE, where he paid Indian celebrities to perform at his wedding.
According to NDTV’s report, before starting their million-dollar umpire gambling business, Chandrakar used to run a juice shop in Nehru Nagar, Bhilai, while Uppal owned a tire business. Both of them developed a gambling addiction and later went to Dubai, where they met a Sheikh and a Pakistani national. Following this encounter, the duo set up the Mahadev online betting app.
Why Bollywood celebrities are on ED’s radar?
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) is investigating several Bollywood actors who attended or performed at the wedding of a businessman named Chandrakar in February this year, as well as at his company’s success party in September last year. According to media reports, these actors are accused of accepting large sums of cash in exchange for their appearance at the events. Earlier, it was reported that the wedding was attended by Bollywood celebrities including Tiger Shroff and Sunny Leone. Reportedly, popular singers including Neha Kakkar, performed at the wedding ceremony.
Ranbir Kapoor is accused of participating in promotional activities for the Mahadev betting app and appearing in its social media advertisements. The fraud began with a WhatsApp number that Kapoor featured in a gleaming manner. Payment for this activity was made in cash, which the Enforcement Directorate is now investigating as proceeds from the crime.