Mahadev betting app scam: Mastermind Sourabh Chandrakar arrested in Dubai, likely to be extradited to India

One of the main promoters of Mahadev betting app, Sourabh Chandrakar, who has been formally arrested in Dubai on the basis of an Interpol-issued arrest warrant, is expected to be brought to India. Chandrakar was arrested in connection with a money laundering and fraud scam that is estimated to have duped the public of Rs 6,000 crore. 

Chandrakar is expected to be either extradited or deported to India over the next few days after he was formally placed under arrest in Dubai recently. According to India Today sources, the extradition process has already commenced.

The Enforcement Directorate had requested the issuance of a Red Notice (RN) against Chandrakar, along with another promoter, Ravi Uppal, who was detained in Dubai late last year. 

According to the ED, the probe into the Mahadev Online Book (MOB) gaming and betting app scam has pointed towards the involvement of high-ranking politicians and bureaucrats from Chhattisgarh, where both Chandrakar and Uppal hail from. 

Chandrakar is also suspected to have links with D Company. 

The Mahadev app operated through a network of panel operators across the country, allegedly laundering money from illegal betting activities. As per the ED, the app is an umbrella syndicate that arranged online platforms to enable illegal betting websites to enrol new users, create user IDs and launder money through a web of benami bank accounts. 

The agency has arrested a total of 11 people in the case so far, and filed two charge sheets, including against two promoters. The charge sheet stated that Chandrakar got married at Ras Al Khaimah, UAE in 2023 and had spent Rs 200 in cash for the event. Private jets were hired to ferry Chandrakar's relatives from India to the UAE and celebrities were paid to perform at the wedding, the agency alleged.

The illegal funds generated by the app were given as bribes to politicians and bureaucrats. The agency had summoned many celebrities and Bollywood actors for questioning the mode of payment and their links with the online betting platform.