The Mahadev Online Book App, which is being probed by the Enforcement Department for alleged money laundering charges, has opened bets for the much-awaited India vs Pakistan match, which will be played on Saturday at Narendra Modi stadium in Ahmedabad, said a report.
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The app has reportedly released several promotional videos inviting bets for the ongoing India-Pakistan cricket match, which starts in less than 90 minutes.
The Mahadev Online Book App, with its headquarters in the UAE, is an umbrella syndicate that provides platforms for illegal betting in a range of activities from election results to games such as poker, card games and cricket.
For today’s match between India and Pakistan, the platform is accepting bets via – FairPlay, Reddy Anna, and Khelo Yaar, Times Now reported on Saturday.
The company, promoted by Sourabh Chandrakar and Ravi Uppal, enroll new users, create IDs, and launder money through a layered web of benami bank accounts, ED has alleged earlier.
The betting app operates by franchising “panel/branches” to their known associates on a 70-30 profit ratio. Large-scale hawala operations are done to siphon off the proceeds of betting to offshore accounts, the agency had said as per news agency PTI.
The Dubai-based owners, who started as their journey as owners of juice and tire shops, are said to be earning Rs 200 crore daily from the illegal app business.
According to the ED, the two set up a network of around 4,000 panel operators in India for online betting. Each operator had 200 customers who placed bets.
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The ED has conducted multiple raids across many cities, including Kolkata, Bhopal, and Mumbai, to probe the flow of money through the Mahadev Gaming app. The probe agency has seized assets worth crores.
It also searched the premises of Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel’s political adviser and two Officers on Special Duty (OSDs) alleging that “high ranking officials connected with the Chief Minister’s Office” in Chhattisgarh received kickbacks to allow an illegal gaming app to run its operations in the state.
Rs 200-crore grand wedding and ED lens
A Rs 200-crore lavish wedding held this February in the UAE caught the attention of the ED as the entire money was reportedly paid entirely in cash. At the wedding held in Ras Al-Khaimah, 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.
Around 14-15 celebrities and actors, such as Ranbir Kapoor, Kapil Sharma, Huma Qureshi, Hina Khan, are under the ED’s scanner in the case.
On Friday, ED said Chandrakar and Uppal reportedly joined hands with gangster Dawood Ibrahim’s brother Mushtaqeem Ibrahim Kaskar to develop a similar betting app for Pakistan, India Today reported.
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It is under Kaskar’s protection that another app named ‘Kheloyar’ is being run in Pakistan. Kaskar is said to have provided Chandrakar with his personally trusted protective detail of security guards and 20 to 30 bouncers, sources said.
