Dubai authorities have detained Ravi Uppal, a primary owner of the Mahadev online betting app, based on a red notice issued by Interpol at the request of the Enforcement Directorate (ED). The 43-year-old Uppal was apprehended last week, and the ED is working with Dubai officials to secure his deportation to India.
Uppal is under investigation by the ED for alleged money laundering associated with illegal betting, along with Chhattisgarh Police and Mumbai Police. The ED had filed a money laundering charge sheet against Uppal and another promoter, Sourabh Chandrakar, before a special Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) court in Raipur in October.
The Interpol issued a red notice based on the ED’s request after revealing that Uppal, holding a Vanuatu passport, had not renounced his Indian citizenship. The ED accused Uppal of generating and concealing proceeds of crime, alleging his involvement in liaising money to bureaucrats and politicians in Chhattisgarh.
The projected proceeds of crime in this case amount to approximately ₹6,000 crore, as per the ED. The agency had earlier claimed that Mahadev betting app promoters paid around ₹508 crore to former Chhattisgarh chief minister Bhupesh Baghel. These allegations are currently under investigation.
The Mahadev Online Book App is operated from a central head office in the UAE, franchising “Panel/Branches” to associates. The ED uncovered large-scale hawala operations to divert betting proceeds to offshore accounts. Additionally, significant cash expenditures in India for advertising illegal betting websites and attracting new users have been observed.
Promoters of the company, originally from Bhilai in Chhattisgarh, oversee the Mahadev online book betting application, functioning as an umbrella syndicate facilitating online platforms for illegal betting websites. Stay tuned for further updates with Aanworld.
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