Mahadev online betting app owner Ravi Uppal detained in Dubai
Mahadev app owner Ravi Uppal is being probed by the ED in a money laundering case linked to alleged illegal betting apart from the Chhattisgarh Police and Mumbai Police.
Ravi Uppal, one of the two main owners of the Mahadev online betting app, has been detained in Dubai by the local police based on a red notice issued by the Interpol at the behest of the ED, news agencies reported quoting official sources.
Uppal, 43, was detained last week in that country and the Enforcement Directorate (ED) authorities are in touch with the Dubai authorities to get him deported to India, news agency ANI tweeted.
Uppal is facing a money laundering case being probed by the Enforcement Directorate. He is named as accused in the case in which allegations of kickbacks were made against outgoing Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel.
Red Corner notices were issued against Uppal and Sourabh Chandrakar, the other promoter and mastermind of the illegal betting syndicate, who is also in the UAE, in October this year. A Red Corner notice was issued against both of the accused after the Enforcement Directorate moved a special court in Raipur and obtained a non-bailable warrant against them.
After Uppal, will Chandrakar be arrested now?
After the arrest of Uppal, it is learned that Chandrakar may be arrested soon.
The development comes months after a lavish wedding held this February in the United Arab Emirates caught the attention of the Enforcement Directorate, as the entire money around ₹200 crore spent on the bash was paid entirely in cash.
At his wedding held in Ras AlKhaimah, Chandrakar hired private jets to ferry family members from Nagpur to the UAE and paid celebrities from the film industry to perform, according to the ED.
Mahadev Online Book Betting app
The Mahadev Online Book Betting app is an umbrella syndicate arranging online platforms for enabling illegal betting websites to enrol new users, create user IDs and launder money through a layered web of Benami bank accounts.
The ED said Chandrakar and Uppal, who hail from Bhilai in Chattisgarh, are the two main promoters of the Mahadev betting platform and run their operations from Dubai. They had created an empire for themselves in that country.
The agency had recently conducted searches at 39 locations across Raipur, Bhopal, Mumbai, and Kolkata and seized illegal assets worth ₹417 crore. ED has also earnestly taken up an investigation abroad.
A Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) special court at Raipur has also issued non-bailable warrants against the suspects.
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First Published:13 Dec 2023, 08:16 AM IST
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