Mumbai crime: Betting app mogul spent Rs 200 crore on Dubai wedding

The Enforcement Directorate ED investigating a money laundering case involving Mahadev online betting app has revealed that the apprsquos promoter and accused Saurabh Chandrakar had a lavish Rs 200 crore wedding in Ras Al Khaimah RAK UAE earlier this yearThe wedding saw the presence and performances of various film celebrities allegedly paid from the proceeds of Chandrakarrsquos criminal activities On Thursday the ED conducted multiple raids at 39 locations in Mumbai Raipur Bhopal and Kolkata seizing property worth Rs 417 crore Celebrities spotted at the event include Tiger Shroff Atif Aslam Rahat Fateh Ali Khan Sunny Leone Neha Kakkar Vishal Dadlani Ali Asgar Bharti Singh Bhagyashree and PulkitApprsquos operationAccording to EDrsquos investigation Sourabh Chandrakar and Ravi Uppal originally from Bhilai Chhattisgarh are the main promoters of Mahadev Online Book and operate their business from Dubai Their company Ms Mahadev Online Book operates through franchising lsquoPanelBranchesrsquo to associates on a 70 per cent30 per cent profitsharing basis Largescale hawala operations transfer betting proceeds to offshore accounts while significant cash expenditures are made in India for advertising and selfpromotion to attract new users and franchise seekers Earlier ED conducted searches in Chhattisgarh and arrested four individuals including the betting syndicatersquos chief liaison responsible for bribing senior government officials to buy their silenceRs 18 lakh cash seized from Govind Kedia an associate of the apprsquos ownersFurther investigation revealed that Chandrakar and Uppal have amassed significant wealth in the UAE which they flaunt unabashedly The February wedding in RAK UAE cost around Rs 200 crore cash It involved private jets celebrity performances and payments made through hawala channels According to digital evidence gathered by the ED Rs 112 crore cash was delivered via hawala to an event management company and Rs 42 crore cash was spent on hotel bookings in AEDs United Arab Emirates DirhamAlso read Mumbai Army tells BMC to stop building work near depotPartners in IndiaED also conducted searches at the premises of Yogesh Popat a suspected hawala operator resulting in the seizure of R237 crore unaccounted cash and evidence related to the receipt of R112 crore hawala money ldquoMany celebrities were found to endorse these betting entities and perform at their functions in exchange for hefty fees which were ultimately paid from online betting proceedsrdquo the ED said in a statementSearches were also conducted at Ms Rapid Travels owned by Dheeraj Ahuja and Vishal Ahuja in Bhopal This entity handled flight ticket operations for Mahadev app promoters associates and celebrity endorsers of their website The illicit cash earned from betting panels was deposited with ticket providers and the wallet balance was used to book domestic and international tickets Ms Rapid Travels also facilitated travel arrangements for Mahadev group events in the UAE Kolkatabased Vikash Chhaparia handled hawala operations for Mahadev Online Book Searches at his known premises and at those of his associate Govind Kedia revealed significant investments in the Indian stock market through entities like Ms Perfect Plan Investments LLP Ms Exim General Trading FZCO and Ms Techpro IT Solutions LLC using the Foreign Portfolio Investment FPI route ED has frozen cash derivatives and other security holdings worth R2363 crore owned by Vikas Chhaparia under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act PMLA 2002 Furthermore assets worth Rs 160 crore in Kediarsquos DEMAT holdings have been frozen by ED under PMLA Searches at his premises resulted in seizure of Indian currency amounting to R18 lakh and gold and jewellery valued at Rs 13 croreAlso Read Why some people are obsessed with wearing black clothes