New Delhi:

The lawyer for the Enforcement Directorate has said that Bollywood actor Ranbir Kapoor has requested one week time to appear before the ED regarding the summon issued to him in connection with the Mahadev betting app case.

Speaking to ANI, ED lawyer Saurabh Pandey said, “Mahadev app is a betting portal and it is a case of money laundering. Raipur ED office started the probe and four people were arrested. As the probe proceeded further, the names of many people came to light, and we issued summons to a few people. Bollywood actor Ranbir Kapoor’s name has also come up so we issued a summon under section 50 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), he didn’t appear today but through email, he requested one week time. We will see what needs to be done further.”

“The procedure is that if one does not appear on the called date then we issue the summon again,” he added.

According to sources Ranbir Kapoor had allegedly carried out promotional activities for the Mahadev betting app. In this case, ED also suspects several other A-lister celebrities and certain sports personalities who promoted the app

A lavish wedding held this February in the United Arab Emirates caught the attention of the Enforcement Directorate as the entire money-around Rs 200 crore- spent on the bash was paid entirely in cash.

At his wedding held in Ras Al-Khaimah, Sourabh Chandrakar, one of the promoters of the Mahadev Online Book Betting app, hired private jets to ferry family members from Nagpur to the UAE and paid celebrities from the Indian film industry to perform, according to the ED.

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has also summoned comedian Kapil Sharma and actor Huma Qureshi in connection with the Mahadev betting app case.

Mahadev Online Book Betting app is an umbrella syndicate arranging online platforms for enabling illegal betting websites to enrol new users, create user IDs and the laundering of money through a layered web of benami bank accounts.

ED had stated that it has successfully identified other major players involved in the money laundering operations of the Mahadev online booking app.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Actor Ranbir Kapoor has been summoned by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in connection with a case involving the Mahadev Gaming App. The agency is investigating alleged money laundering in the online betting app, which is illegal in India, that is being run by two UAE-based kingpins. Mr Kapoor appeared in a few advertisements promoting the platform. The ED has conducted multiple raids across many cities to probe the flow of money through the Mahadev Gaming app. ED has said that it is an umbrella syndicate that promotes betting.

What is the Mahadev Gaming app?

It provides platforms for illegal betting in different live games like Poker, card games, chance games, badminton, tennis, football as well as betting on cricket, along with the provision for playing a number of card games like Teen Patti (a card game), Poker, Dragon Tiger, and virtual cricket games.

The people who maintain Mahadev app operate a number of closed groups on various instant messaging platforms. They also run 4-5 similar platforms and reportedly make a profit of Rs 200 crore every day.

The modus operandi

They advertise contact number over websites and lure people to play to earn profits. Such numbers can only be contacted on platforms like WhatsApp.

Once a user contacts the given number, he/she will be provided two separate contact numbers. One of them is for depositing money and collecting points in user IDs used to make bets, while the second number is for contacting the website to encash the accumulated points in the designated IDs.

The IDs are generally created on multiple website.

All the games are rigged in a manner that overall the panel owners will not lose money and despite initial profits to the user, ultimately, they are likely to lose huge sums.

Who are the promoters of the Mahadev App?

Sourabh Chandrakar and Ravi Uppal from Chhattisgarh’s Bhilai are the main promoters of Mahadev app and are running their operations from Dubai.

The app is operated by several “panel/branches that are sold by Chandrakar and Uppal like a small franchise.

Payments are done by bank accounts that are either opened fraudulently or are loaned for commission.

There was report a few weeks ago that Chandrakar spent Rs 200 crore on his wedding in Dubai. He reportedly leased a private aircraft to fly his family and friends from Nagpur to Dubai for the wedding.

ED raids against Mahadev App

The agency raided the founders of the Mahadev Gambling App’s offices in many cities, including Kolkata, Bhopal, and Mumbai, and seized assets worth crores.

It also searched the premises of Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel’s political adviser and two Officers on Special Duty (OSDs) alleging that “high ranking officials connected with the Chief Minister’s Office” in Chhattisgarh received kickbacks to allow an illegal gaming app to run its operations in the state.