Mahadev online betting case: ED arrests co-promoter Saurabh Chandrakar, gets 7-day custody

The Directorate of Enforcement (ED) on Friday arrested Saurabh Chandrakar, currently in judicial custody after his arrest by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) over his alleged role as co-promoter of the ₹6,000-crore Mahadev online betting syndicate, agency officials said, adding that a court in Raipur granted them seven-day custody to question him.

ED’s counsel Sourabh Kumar Pande said Chandrakar was produced before the special Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) court in Raipur on Friday, where his arrest was allowed and subsequently processed by around 3.10pm. The development came a day after the court allowed the agency’s application seeking a production warrant.

The illegal betting syndicate ran betting panels in which bets were placed online, and the money generated was laundered. ED has estimated the proceedings linked to the Mahadev app and some linked platforms to be worth around ₹94,000 crore, out of which ₹4,000 to ₹5,000 crore has already been remitted to the promoters.

Chandrakar was extradited from Oman on the orders of the Muscat Court of Appeal, which ruled in India’s favour, while rejecting a competing extradition request from the UAE. He was arrested on November 1, after being surrendered to India by the Sultanate of Oman, where he had been detained over alleged illegal entry using forged travel documents, the CBI told the court.

On November 4, a Raipur court had granted the CBI eight days of custody and allowed it to take him to Delhi for questioning. After the remand expired, the CBI produced him before the court on Thursday but did not seek further custody. He was subsequently sent to judicial custody.

ED’s court and internal documents, seen by HT, reveal that while Chandrakar primarily handled the promotion and operations of the Mahadev Online Book , co-accused Ravi Uppal, also currently in custody after being arrested by the CBI earlier this month, ran the head office with him in Dubai and managed “the financial network, including hawala deliveries and betting operators in Nagpur”. Investigators have alleged that proceeds from illegal betting were routed through multiple bank accounts, layered through financial transactions and transferred abroad through hawala channels. A part of the money was also allegedly paid to public servants.

The case came to light during the previous Congress government led by Bhupesh Baghel in Chhattisgarh. The ED had earlier claimed that its investigation revealed the involvement of several senior politicians and bureaucrats from the state. In March 2024, the state’s Economic Offences Wing (EOW) registered an FIR based on an ED report, invoking charges of criminal conspiracy, cheating and provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act. Baghel, Uppal, Chandrakar, Shubham Soni and Anil Kumar Agrawal, along with 14 others, were named as accused in that FIR.