Mahadev online betting app: Who is betting kingpin Sourabh Chandrakar?

Sourabh Chandrakar, one of the main promoters of the Mahadev online betting app, was recently arrested in Dubai following an Interpol Red Corner notice issued at the request of the Enforcement Directorate (ED).
The ED, along with the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and Chhattisgarh Police, is processing extradition documents through the Ministry of External Affairs, Hindustan Times reported.
According to the ED, Mahadev Online Book Betting App is an umbrella syndicate arranging online platforms for enabling illegal betting, enrolling new users, creating user IDs, and laundering money through a layered web of benami bank accounts.
– Until a few years back, Sourabh Chandrakar used to run a juice shop called ‘Juice Factory’ with his brother in Bhillai town, Durg district, Chhattisgarh, while his business partner, Ravi Uppal, is an engineering graduate.
– In 2019, Chandrakar and Uppal moved to Dubai.
– At first, both Chandrakar and Uppal worked as local bookies.
– After moving to Dubai, they started the Mahadev online betting app.
– They lured unemployed youths, students, farmers, and others with promises of making quick and easy money.

– They managed to evade authorities by using inactive or semi-active accounts to make transactions.
– According to the ED, Sourabh got married in Ras Al Khaimah, UAE, in February 2023, spending approximately ₹200 crore in cash on the event, which included hiring private jets to transport relatives from India and paying celebrities to perform.
– The ED estimates that the projected proceeds from the Mahadev online betting would approximately be ₹6,000 crore.
ED claimed that the alleged illegal funds generated by the app were shared as bribes with politicians and bureaucrats in Chhattisgarh. ED has summoned celebrities and Bollywood actors to question them about the mode of payments made to them and their links with the online betting platform.
– So far, the ED has arrested of 11 people in this case and filed two chargesheets. Cash and properties worth ₹417 crore have been seized.