After investigating the money laundering of about Rs 5000 crore related to Mahadev App, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) talked about mastermind Saurabh Chandrakar and told how he was having fun by cheating. According to the Central Investigation Agency, Saurabh got married in UAE and spent about Rs 200 crore on it. His family members had come from Nagpur in private jets to attend the wedding. The agency has so far seized cash and property worth Rs 417 crore, which was acquired through crime.
ED started investigating the case this year and four people were arrested last month. Investigation revealed that the main actors running the gambling app ‘Mahadev’ are Chandrakar and Ravi Uppal, who are residents of Bhilai, Chhattisgarh. He was controlling the entire game while sitting in Dubai. According to ED, Saurabh Chandrakar and Ravi Uppal built their empire in UAE. He started flaunting the sudden and illegally received money. Saurabh got married in RAK, UAE in February 2023. Mahadev App owner spent Rs 200 crore cash on wedding ceremony. He had hired private planes to take the family from Nagpur to UAE. From wedding decorations to dancers, they were transported from Mumbai and were paid in cash through hawala.
ED has so far conducted raids at 39 places across the country including Raipur, Bhopal, Mumbai and Kolkata. During this period, property worth Rs 417 crore has been seized. The agency is also preparing to issue a Red Corner Notice against Chandrakar and Uppal. The special PMLA court in Raipur has issued a non-bailable warrant against him. An ED official said that M/s Mahadev Online Book was being run from the UAE office through a franchisee as per the 70:30 profit ratio. Large amounts of cash were also spent in India to promote the app and website to attract new users. During the raid, it was revealed that many celebrities had campaigned for them and performed in their programs, in return for which they were paid huge sums of money.