Chhattisgarh: ED attaches ₹21.45 crore assets in Mahadev betting probe

RAIPUR: Enforcement Directorate’s Raipur zonal office has on Wednesday attached properties worth about ₹21.45 crore belonging to key operators linked to the Mahadev online book illegal betting network, tightening its money-laundering probe into the Dubai-based syndicate. Earlier, in a provisional attachment order issued on Jan 10 under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002, the agency has frozen movable assets valued at ₹98.55 lakh and 27 immovable properties – including residential houses, commercial shops, agricultural land and luxury apartments in India and Dubai – collectively valued at around ₹20.46 crore.The ED statement said that the assets are in the name of Ravi Uppal, Rajat Kumar Singh, Saurabh Ahuja and Vishal Ramani, Vinay Kumar and Honey Singh, Lucky Goyal and Raja Gupta, all described as key associates or panel operators of the Mahadev betting platform.According to the ED, Ravi Uppal, identified as a main promoter of the syndicate and currently absconding, has seen a foreign property in Dubai’s Atria Ra project, valued at about ₹6.75 crore, attached.Rajat Kumar Singh, described as a close associate of alleged kingpin Saurabh Chandrakar, is accused of operating multiple betting “panels” and earning proceeds of crime (POC) of ₹15–20 crore. Properties held by him in Bhilai and Dubai have been provisionally attached.Partners Saurabh Ahuja and Vishal Ramani allegedly ran nearly 100 panels, generating around ₹30 crore of POC. Properties in Durg and Bhilai registered in their names have now been brought under attachment.Vinay Kumar and Honey Singh allegedly operated six panels and handled the fake promotion of the betting app. The duo is said to have earned about ₹7 crore (₹3.5 crore each) in POC. The ED has attached their residential properties in Jaipur and New Delhi, along with a fleet of vehicles.Lucky Goyal, accused of handling Telegram-based promotional campaigns for the platform, is alleged to have generated POC of roughly ₹2.55 crore. Multiple shops and plots in Rajasthan linked to him have been attached under the latest order.Dubai-based operator Raja Gupta, who the ED says managed at least 10 panels, has lost an immovable property in Raipur, which investigators claim was acquired out of laundered betting proceeds.Syndicate built on ‘panels’ and mule accountsThe investigations, triggered by multiple FIRs registered by police in Chhattisgarh, Andhra Pradesh and West Bengal, have uncovered what the ED calls a “massive betting syndicate” that ran illegal online wagering platforms through websites such as Tiger Exchange, Gold365 and Laser247.The agency said the operation worked on a franchise model in which “panels” or “branches” were managed by associates spread across states, while main promoters Saurabh Chandrakar and Ravi Uppal allegedly controlled the network from Dubai.Findings so far suggest the promoters kept 70–75% of the profits generated by these panels, with the remainder shared by panel operators. The suspected proceeds of crime were allegedly routed through thousands of “mule” or “dummy” bank accounts opened in the names of unsuspecting individuals using their KYC documents, obscuring the money trail before it was deployed in real estate, vehicles and other assets.₹2,621-crore assets hit so farWith the latest attachment, the ED said it has so far searched more than 175 locations across the country in connection with the Mahadev Online Book case. Movable and immovable assets worth about ₹2,621 crore have been seized, frozen or attached during the course of the probe.Thirteen people have been arrested in the case to date, and 74 entities have been arrayed as accused in five prosecution complaints (charge sheets) filed by the agency before the designated PMLA court.The fresh attachment order, officials indicated, is aimed at choking the alleged syndicate’s financial backbone even as efforts continue to trace remaining proceeds of crime and secure the custody of absconding promoters operating from overseas.