ED arrests Saurabh Chandrakar, secures his 7-day custody
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Friday arrested Saurabh Chandrakar, who was in judicial custody after his arrest by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) over his alleged role as co-promoter of the Mahadev online betting syndicate, agency officials said, adding that a court in Raipur granted them seven-day custody to question him.“Chandrakar, co-owner and promoter of the Mahadev Online Book illegal betting syndicate, under Section 19 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act with the permission of the Special Court (PMLA), Raipur.
The court has remanded him to ED custody for seven days till 19th November for further investigation. He is the first promoter of the syndicate to be brought back to India,” ED said in a statement.The development came a day after the court allowed the agency’s application seeking a production warrant.Chandrakar, along with another key accused and co-promoter Ravi Uppal operated “Mahadev Online Book” (various online betting websites) from the syndicate’s head office in Dubai through a franchise of “betting panels” across India and the UAE.“Player money went through bank accounts held in other people’s names and left India through hawala,” ED statement added.Chandrakar, ED said, did not answer the summons issued to him in September 2023 and continued to evade investigation by law enforcement agencies.ED has estimated the proceeds linked to the Mahadev app and other related platforms to be worth around ₹94,000 crore, out of which ₹4,000 to ₹5,000 crore has already been remitted to the promoters.In this case, ED has so far searched about 190 premises, seized or frozen assets worth about ₹2,000 crore and attached property now valued at about ₹3,500 crore, about ₹1,800 crore of it abroad, including 22 immovable properties in Dubai.
It has filed six prosecution complaints against 116 accused.Chandrakar is the 15th person arrested by ED in this case.“In ED custody, Saurabh Chandrakar will be confronted with the statements of his associates, digital data and documents concerning his foreign entities and evidences of commission of offence of money laundering,” the agency said.Chandrakar was extradited from Oman on the orders of the Muscat Court of Appeal, which ruled in India’s favour, while rejecting a competing extradition request from the UAE.He was arrested on November 1, after being surrendered to India by the Sultanate of Oman, where he had been detained over alleged illegal entry using forged travel documents, the CBI told the court.
HT first reported on November 1 about Chandrakar’s return from Oman.
