New Delhi: The Directorate of Enforcement (ED) attached assets worth Rs 387.99 crore in connection with the Mahadev online betting case under Prevention of Money Laundering Act, the agency said on Saturday.
Movable investments
These assets, attached on December 5, include movable investments made by a Mauritius-based company, Tano Investment Opportunities Fund, linked to Hari Shankar Tibrewal through FPI and FDI, as well as immovable properties located in Chhattisgarh, Mumbai, and Madhya Pradesh. The assets are held by the promoters of multiple betting apps and websites, panel operators, and associates.
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As per Dynamite News correspondent The ED's investigation revealed that the Mahadev Online Book Betting App functions as a syndicate facilitating illegal betting through online platforms. The app enables enrollment of users, creation of user IDs, and money laundering through a complex network of benami bank accounts.
So far, the ED has seized or frozen assets valued at Rs 2,295.61 crore in this case, including cash worth Rs 19.36 crore, valuables worth Rs 16.68 crore, and movable assets like bank balances and securities totalling Rs 1,729.17 crore.
Earlier, two provisional attachment orders covering assets worth Rs 142.86 crore were issued.
ED arrested
The ED has also arrested 11 individuals and filed four prosecution complaints before the Special PMLA court in Raipur.
In November last year, the ED conducted searches against the money laundering networks linked with the alleged Mahadev Book Online Betting App, which led to the recovery of cash worth Rs 5.39 crore and a bank balance of Rs 15.59 crore.
Several celebrities and Bollywood actors have also been summoned by the agency for questioning regarding their connections with the online betting platform and the payment methods involved.
ED filed two charge sheets
ED has filed two charge sheets in the Mahadev app case, including against the main promoters, Sourabh Chandrakar and Ravi Uppal. (with Agency inputs)
