Mahadev Betting App Case: ED Files Fresh Chargesheet

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has filed a fresh chargesheet before a special court in Raipur as part of a money laundering investigation related to alleged illegal betting and gaming through the Mahadev online book app.

The federal agency intends to share this second prosecution complaint (chargesheet) with authorities in Dubai to facilitate the deportation or extradition of the two principal promoters of the app, Ravi Uppal and Sourabh Chandrakar, who were recently detained in Dubai based on an Interpol red notice issued by the ED.

The approximately 1,700-1,800 page fresh chargesheet was filed on January 1, listing five accused, including alleged cash courier Aseem Das, police constable Bheem Singh Yadav, and Shubham Soni, a prominent executive associated with the app, among others. The special Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) court is expected to take cognizance of the chargesheet on January 10, as confirmed by ED counsel Saurabh Pandey.

In December, it was reported that the ED would file a second chargesheet in the case and share its contents with Dubai authorities to strengthen the case against the two promoters and secure their custody.

The first chargesheet, filed earlier, named Chandrakar and Uppal, alleging that Chandrakar had an extravagant wedding in the UAE, spending about Rs 200 crore in cash. The agency claims that the illegal funds generated by the app were used as bribes to politicians and bureaucrats in the state, and it has summoned various celebrities and Bollywood actors for questioning regarding their connections with the online betting platform.

The projected proceeds of crime in this case are estimated to be about Rs 6,000 crore, according to the ED. In November, the agency claimed that Mahadev betting app promoters paid around Rs 508 crore to former Chhattisgarh chief minister Bhupesh Baghel. Baghel and the Congress party dismissed these charges as an attempt to malign his image and labeled it as vendetta politics by the Centre. Aseem Das later submitted to the court that he had been framed as part of a conspiracy and had never delivered cash to politicians. The two promoters are originally from Bhilai town in Chhattisgarh, and the Mahadev online book betting application serves as an umbrella syndicate facilitating illegal betting websites.