In a major crackdown on illegal online betting networks, the Enforcement Directorate's (ED) Raipur zonal office has provisionally attached properties valued at approximately Rs 91.82 crore. This action is part of an ongoing money laundering investigation targeting the operations of 'Mahadev Online Book' (MOB) and 'Skyexchange.com'. The agency announced the move in an official statement on Friday.
Details of the Attached Assets and Shell Entities
The attachment, executed under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), targets bank balances and high-value real estate identified as 'proceeds of crime'. Investigators state that these illicit funds were funneled through a maze of shell companies, hawala networks, and foreign portfolio investments before being reintroduced into India.
A significant portion, Rs 74.28 crore in bank balances, has been frozen. These funds were held in the names of M/s Perfect Plan Investment LLC and M/s Exim General Trading – GZCO. The ED alleges these entities are connected to Saurabh Chandrakar, the alleged promoter of the Mahadev app, and his associates Anil Kumar Agarwal and Vikas Chhaparia. The agency claims these companies were instrumental in disguising illegal betting income as legitimate overseas investments.
In a separate action, properties worth Rs 17.5 crore have been attached in the name of Dubai-based hawala operator Gagan Gupta. Described as a close aide of Hari Shankar Tibrewal, the alleged owner of Skyexchange.com, the attached assets include premium real estate and liquid holdings registered under his family members' names. The ED asserts these were bought using cash generated from the illegal betting platforms.
The Modus Operandi of the Betting Syndicate
According to the ED's findings, apps like Mahadev Online Book and Skyexchange.com generated massive criminal proceeds by facilitating large-scale online betting. The Mahadev Online Book application allegedly served as a back-end platform to onboard customers for various betting sites and manage their financial transactions.
Investigators revealed that the games were rigged, ensuring customers ultimately lost money. The syndicate collected and distributed thousands of crores of rupees based on a pre-decided profit-sharing model. To conceal this flow, the network used a web of benami bank accounts opened with forged or stolen KYC documents. These transactions were kept off official accounting books and not reported to tax authorities.
Sophisticated Laundering and the 'Cashback' Racket
The probe uncovered a complex laundering mechanism where funds were sent abroad via hawala, trade-based laundering, and crypto-assets. The money was then cycled back into India disguised as Foreign Portfolio Investment (FPI) in the stock market.
Digging deeper, the ED exposed a sophisticated 'cashback' racket linked to this cycle. FPI entities would make substantial investments in listed Indian companies. In return, the promoters of these companies were allegedly compelled to secretly pay back 30–40% of the investment amount in cash. The agency identified Gagan Gupta as a beneficiary of at least Rs 98 crore from such shady transactions.
The alleged promoters of Mahadev Online Book, Saurabh Chandrakar and Ravi Uppal, both originally from Chhattisgarh, are currently believed to be residing in the UAE (Dubai). The Indian government is actively pursuing their extradition. Investigators describe Mahadev as an 'umbrella syndicate' providing end-to-end illegal services—from betting and payment collection to money laundering and offshore parking of funds—through layered networks of operators and shell entities.
