The Enforcement Directorate has arrested two persons in connection with the Mahadev online betting and gaming app case.
The accused have been identified as Nitin Tibrewal and Amit Agrawal. They were produced before a Raipur special court which sent them to ED custody till January 17.
According to the agency, Mr. Tibrewal is the majority shareholder of Techpro IT Solutions Limited, which was allegedly being used as a front for the Mahadev Online Book and for investing the proceeds of crime generated out of illegal operations in India by way of Foreign Portfolio Investment.
“Nitin Tebriwal tried to conceal this fact despite multiple opportunities granted to him. He also did not reveal his foreign bank accounts and assets before the ED which have been discovered by the ED during the course of investigations,” it said on Saturday. Mr. Tebriwal has been accused of knowingly assisting in layering the proceeds of crime by investing it in his name and through the associated Indian and foreign entities.
The ED said the second arrested accused was the brother of Anil Kumar Agrawal, who is also a partner in the Mahadev Online Book. “Amit Agrawal has knowingly utilised the proceeds of crime emanating out of Mahadev Online Book in purchasing assets in his name and that of his wife. To fund these purchases, Amit Agrawal arranged entries totalling ₹2.50 crore in his and his wife’s bank accounts against cash,” the agency said.
In the statements recorded before the Directorate, he allegedly maintained the bank entries in question were loans. However, the entry operator involved in the transactions revealed the “truth”.
The ED probe is based on the First Information Reports (FIRs) registered by the Chhattisgarh police. Subsequently, more FIRs were instituted by the police in Vishakhapatnam and other States, which were taken on record by the agency.
Mahadev Online Book betting app is alleged to be an umbrella syndicate arranging online platforms for enabling illegal betting websites to enrol new users, create user IDs and laundering of money through a layered web of “benami” bank accounts.
In the case, movable properties worth ₹572.41 crore have been seized or frozen by the ED. Two provisional attachment orders have been issued, attaching movable and immovable properties valued at ₹142.86 crore. Prosecution complaints dated October 20, 2023, and January 1, 2024, have been filed. The agency has arrested eight accused so far.
