Mahadev betting app The realm of the suspect

The ED claims that Saurabh Chandrakar got married in the UAE, for which Rs 200 crore cash was spent

New Delhi:

Even as Indian authorities prepare to receive Saurabh Chandrakar, one of the key promoters of gambling app Mahadev, sources told NDTV how the money was moved, the extent of the nexus involved in the operation of the app and the titular role of two Brothers from Chhattisgarh.

According to sources, Chandrakar’s formal arrest in Dubai was based on an arrest warrant issued by Interpol in a money laundering and fraud case. Chandrakar, along with another promoter of the app, Ravi Uppal, was arrested in Dubai late last year and placed under “house arrest” following the Enforcement Directorate’s (ED) request to issue a Red Notice (RN) against them.

Chandrakar and co-promoter Ravil Uppal hailed from Chhattisgarh’s Bhilai but operated the Mahadev gambling app from Dubai. When he lived in his hometown, the former owned a juice shop. He is said to have left for Dubai in 2019.

After launching the app, the duo opened call centers in major cities of Malaysia, Thailand, UAE and India, where several supporting apps were created to facilitate online gambling. In Chhattisgarh and other states of India, around 30 call centers were run with the help of two persons identified as Sunil Damani and Anil Damani, both close aides of Chandrakar and Uppal.

The ED claims that the network consisted of around 4,000 ‘panel operators’ spread across several states in India, and handled around 200 customers who had placed bets. Using this method, the two earned at least ₹200 crore daily and managed to build a criminal empire in the UAE.

ED investigation revealed that according to sources, thousands of crores were defrauded through the gambling and other interconnected apps.

The money trail of a deep connection

Chandrakar and Uppal, along with police, bureaucrats and politicians, operated a network to run the app and manage its revenues in India.

With the help of the Damanis, a large number of benami bank accounts were opened. Anil Damani was instructed to divert the money obtained through Hawala to the police, politicians and bureaucrats to avoid coming under the scanner.

Money was also sent to Chandra Bhushan Verma, an assistant sub-inspector in Chhattisgarh police, for the same purpose. He was in direct contact with Vinod Verma, the political advisor to the then Chhattisgarh CM Bhupesh Baghel, with whose support he headed the syndicate of police, bureaucrats and politicians.

The Damanis also sent large sums of money to the promoters in the UAE through hawala.

During interrogation, Anil Damani said that over the last two to three years, Sunil Damani and he have done transactions amounting to Rs 60-65 crore through Hawala at Uppal’s request, while he got Rs 6 lakh. He added that they sell the hawala ring through their jewelry store.

Call records show that the Damanis have been in constant touch with Chandrakar and Uppal.

Satish Chandrakar, who was arrested by the ED in the case, ran four call centers and had a five percent stake. He was also given the task of monitoring illegal monetary transactions. Investigations also revealed that Satish Chandrakar also had links with gangster and drug mafia boss Tapan Sarkar, who is on the run in the case.

According to the ED, the expected proceeds of crime in this case are around Rs 6,000 crore.

The Bollywood connection

The ED claims in its chargesheet that Chandrakar got married in UAE’s Ras Al Khaimah in February 2023 and around Rs 200 crore “in cash” was spent on the event.

Around 17 Hindi film celebrities and relatives of Chandrakar were flown in on chartered flights. The celebrities also performed at the wedding and in return are said to have received millions of rupees through Hawala.

Furthermore, actor Ranbir Kapoor is accused of promoting a sports app linked to online gambling app Mahadev. Therefore, all actors who were present at the wedding were included in the scope of the study.