Mahadev betting app owner Saurabh Chandrakar may soon be deported to India. He was recently arrested in Dubai, UAE after being issued a Red Corner Notice from Interpol in a case of money laundering and fraud. Now he is expected to be extradited to India within a week.
Chandrakar, one of the main promoters of Mahadev App, has been arrested in a case related to an alleged Rs 6,000 crore betting scam. Saurabh Chandrakar, who has built an empire worth billions of rupees through Mahadev App, once ran a small juice shop in Bhilai, Chhattisgarh.
According to Hindustan Times report, federal agencies ED, CBI and Chhattisgarh Police are working on extradition documents through the Ministry of External Affairs in a collective effort to bring Chandrakar back to India. On Thursday, a Raipur court issued an extradition order for Chandrakar, who is now being sent to UAE authorities, the report said.
Chandrakar and his business partner Ravi Uppal have been under house arrest in Dubai since December last year. The ED had alleged in November 2023 that both of them had given a bribe of Rs 508 crore to the then Chief Minister of Chhattisgarh Bhupesh Baghel.
Ravi and Saurabh shifted to Dubai in 2019
According to ED, both Saurabh Chandrakar and Ravi Uppal are residents of Chhattisgarh. Before starting the Mahadev betting app with Ravi, Saurabh used to run a juice shop named ‘Juice Factory’ with his brother in Bhilai city of Durg district of Chhattisgarh. However, it is said that both of them shifted to Dubai in 2019.
The duo expanded their business activities by setting up call centers in major cities of Malaysia, Thailand, UAE and India to develop apps that support online betting.
The report said that around 30 call centers in Chhattisgarh and other states were managed in collaboration with Chandrakar and Uppal’s trusted associates Sunil Damani and Anil Damani.
The ED claims that this network involved around 4,000 panel operators spread across different states of India, with each operator handling around 200 betting customers. Through this betting app, both the main accused earned at least Rs 200 crore every day, which helped them establish a criminal empire in the UAE.
17 Bollywood stars had come to the wedding, payment was done through Hawala
The ED charge sheet claims that Saurabh Chandrakar got married in Ras Al Khaimah, UAE in February 2023 and about Rs 200 crore in cash was spent in organizing it. During this time, private jets were hired to bring about 17 Bollywood celebrities and their relatives from India to UAE for Chandrakar’s wedding.
ED alleges that these film personalities had allegedly performed at wedding ceremonies and in return they were paid crores of rupees through hawala.
The ED claims that its investigation into the Mahadev Online Book (MOB) gaming and betting app has revealed the nexus of various high-ranking politicians and bureaucrats of Chhattisgarh. ED has so far arrested a total of 11 people in this case and two chargesheets have also been filed.
(with agency input)
