While the Enforcement Directorate is investigating the case of the Mahadev Book app, an FIR has been registered at Matunga police station in Mumbai against its subsidiary khiladi.com. According to the FIR, the scam is worth Rs 15,000 crore and these apps are instrumental in betting in big cricket tournaments as well. In the FIR, exclusively accessed by CNN-News18, Saurabh Chandrakar and Ravi Uppal have been named among 32 others. It states that players are given a welcome bonus to the tune of X1300 to gain the trust of the players. Apart from that, these platforms are endorsed by celebrities. The FIR states that the victim in this case got influenced because it was endorsed by a famous Bollywood celebrity who made his debut and was popular in the early 2000s. He continues to be a prominent face in Bollywood today. Apart from khiladi.com, there are several other portals run by the same group which have been named in the FIR, including 11xplay, 99exch, Betbhai, BJ88, CBTF, coexch99, cricbet99, Fairbook247, Fairexchange, fairplay, Laserbook247, Lotus365, Winbuzz, Reddyanna, and SportsX9. “More than 100 such betting portals are operational, all of whom are operated under one umbrella,” reads the FIR. The FIR also mentions the name of a bookie and alleges that the money is invested through such bookies, who eventually use cryptocurrencies to get profits. According to the FIR, those under whose name the dummy accounts operate are paid Rs 1 lakh. The FIR mentions the name of Amit Sharma who works in alliance with Saurabh Chandrakar. Amit Sharma is a Mumbai-based alliance partner of Chandrakar. According to the FIR, Chandrakar secured a sponsorship agreement with the IIFA 2022 awards due to Sharma. Sharma has underworld connections, as alleged by the complainant in the FIR. The funds for the sponsorship agreement were allegedly derived from earnings through betting profits. Amit Sharma also funded significant amounts for various construction projects on Mira Road. The FIR also mentions how various cryptocurrency and other digital currency wallets and benami accounts are used to collect betting money. This betting money is then laundered to Chandrakar and his partners. Which in turn are used for various illegal activities such as narcoterrorism and procuring arms. Chandrakar allegedly uses wallets and benami bank accounts for the illicit movement of funds for D-Company, involving illegal and drug-related operations. The FIR implicates syndicate members Atul Agrawal, Lala, Khanjam, Jagdish Kumar Thakkar, along with Rohit Mugoi and Amit Jindal in handling Chandrakar’s hawala operations. They reportedly convert betting funds into cryptocurrency through USDT. During the Mahadev app investigation by the Enforcement Directorate, it was found that Saurabh Chandrakar and Ravi Uppal were collaborating with D-company.
Mahadev App Case: Mumbai Police FIR Accuses Saurabh Chandrakar, Ravi Uppal of Narcoterrorism
