ED’s first chargesheet in Mahadev betting app scandal

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has filed its first chargesheet in connection with its money laundering investigation into the recent Mahadev betting app case that emerged in Chhattisgarh.

The federal probe agency filed a prosecution complaint before the special Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) court in Raipur on Friday.
The chargesheet includes 14 individuals, including the alleged primary promoters of the Mahadev Book app, Sourabh Chandrakar and Ravi Uppal, as well as Vikas Chhapariya, Chandrabhushan Verma, Satish Chandrakar, Anil Dammani, Sunil Dammani, Vishal Ahuja, Dheeraj Ahuja, Srijan Associates through Punaram Verma, Shiv Kumar Verma, Punaram Verma Shiv Kumar Verma, Yashoda Verma, and Pawan Nathani, as per the sources.

Sourabh Chandrakar and Ravi Uppal have previously denied any wrongdoing.
The chargesheet’s operative section is 197 pages long, with approximately 8,800 additional pages of annexures.

The projected proceeds from the alleged crime in this case are estimated to be about Rs 6,000 crore, according to the sources. The court is anticipated to take cognizance of the chargesheet at the next hearing scheduled for November 25, they noted.

The ED had previously disclosed that its investigation had revealed that Mahadev Book is managed from a central head office in the UAE. It operates by franchising “panel/branches” to their known associates on a 70-30 profit-sharing ratio, the agency had stated.

“Large-scale hawala operations are conducted to divert the proceeds of betting to offshore accounts. Substantial cash transactions are also carried out in India to advertise betting websites and self-aggrandisement, which is necessary to attract new users and franchise (panel) seekers,” the agency stated.