The story so far: The recent arrest of Bollywood actor Sahil Khan by the Mumbai Police has once again brought attention to the multi-crore money laundering scam related to alleged illegal betting and gaming through the Mahadev Online Book application. Mr. Khan and 31 other persons, including several Bollywood celebrities, are currently under the scanner of the Mumbai Police Special Investigation Team (SIT) which is examining alleged illegal transactions between the promoters of the app and some financial and real estate firms.
Besides the Mumbai Police, several other law enforcement agencies are investigating the case, which relates to money laundering and illegal betting in live sports through the Mahadev app. The Enforcement Directorate (ED), which is leading the investigation, has indicated the involvement of senior politicians and bureaucrats from Chhattisgarh. The main accused, app promoters Sourabh Chandrakar and Ravi Uppal who hail from Chhattisgarh, are currently detained in Dubai following an Interpol red notice (RN).
How did the Mahadev betting case come to light?
The betting case came to light last year after a lavish wedding of one of the promoters of the Mahadev Online Book app caught the attention of the ED. A subsequent probe unearthed a major scam. The probe agency alleged that Mr. Chandrakar spent nearly ₹200 crore in cash for the mega event in the United Arab Emirates.
The accused hired private jets to ferry relatives from Nagpur, and several Bollywood celebrities and dancers were flown in from Mumbai to perform at the wedding. ‘Hawala’ channels were used to make cash payments to event actors, management companies and hotel bookings, as per the probe agency.
How has the Mahadev betting case unfolded?
In the crackdown that followed in September 2023, the ED froze and seized assets worth over ₹400 crore following searches to trace the money trail. at around 40 locations across the country. During the probe, the ED found that the main promoters ran their operations from Dubai. They used the Mahadev Online Book application as an umbrella syndicate for illegal activities in India.
The app arranged online platforms and websites for enabling gambling and betting on online games and live sports such as cricket and football. These platforms, around 70 in number, enrolled new users, created IDs and facilitated the laundering of money through a layered web of ‘benami’ bank accounts. It operated by franchising ‘panels or branches’ to known associates on a 70-30 profit ratio basis. Besides this, the main promoters were also partners or promoters in multiple such online betting books like ‘Reddy Anna’ and ‘Fairplay.’
A huge cash expenditure was incurred in India for advertising betting websites to attract new users and franchise (panel) seekers. Large-scale hawala operations were done to siphon off the proceeds of betting to off-shore accounts, the ED said. The probe agency estimated that the proceeds of betting to be around Rs 6,000 crore.
The agency named Mr. Chandrakar and Mr. Uppal in the first chargesheet filed before the special Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) court in Raipur. Notably, the chargesheet quoted a statement by an uncle of Mr. Chandrakar, who claimed that Sourabh ran a juice shop along with his brother in Bhilai before he went to Dubai in 2019.
The case made headlines again in November after the ED issued a statement, alleging that betting company promoters had paid ₹508 crore to the then Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel. As evidence, the agency cited the purported confession of alleged “cash courier” Asim Das. Mr. Das was specially sent from the UAE to deliver the cash for “electioneering expenses of the ruling Congress party,” the ED said. The ED claimed to have recovered ₹5.39 crore cash from his possession, following which he was arrested.
The timing of the serious allegations— with Assembly polls round the corner— triggered a political storm. Mr. Baghel refuted all charges against him and termed the ED’s claims a political attempt to defame the Congress government and tarnish his image. He in turn accused the BJP of using the central investigation agencies to target him before the Assembly polls.
“Look at the shrewdness of the ED that after revealing the statement of that person [Das], it has written in a short sentence that the statement is a matter of investigation. If the investigation has not been done then issuing a press release on the statement of one person not only reveals the intentions of the ED but also reveals the bad intentions of the Central government behind it,” Mr. Baghel wrote on X as he questioned the inflow of the seized money.
After months of investigation, the Mahadev Online app was finally banned by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) at the request of the ED on November 5.
What is the match-fixing angle?
While the ED was investigating the money laundering angle, the Mumbai Police filed a separate case against 32 individuals following a complaint by social worker Prakash Bankar. The complainant alleged that a large number of people had been defrauded of nearly Rs 15,000 crore since 2019 through the betting app.
He claimed that the main accused were involved in ‘match-fixing’ of major cricket matches and tournaments in India, which included both gambling and cyber fraud. The case was transferred to a SIT of the Mumbai Police crime branch in late November due to the extensive nature of the investigation.
Actor-turned fitness expert Sahil Khan, known for movies ‘Style’ and ‘Excuse Me,’ was one of the 32 people named in the FIR.
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Was actor Sahil Khan managing a betting app?
The actor is accused of promoting the Mahadev app and earning huge profits from it. The police suspect Mr. Khan of not only promoting the Mahadev betting app but of being the owner of another application called ‘The Lion Book.’
The SIT called him for questioning in December but the actor skipped summons and instead applied for anticipatory bail. He finally appeared before the police in April this year. While the actor claimed to have no direct connection with the gambling platform, the SIT sought his remand on the grounds that he was not cooperating with the investigation.
He was arrested from Jagdalpur in Chhattisgarh on April 27 after the Bombay High Court rejected his pre-arrest bail plea. Notably, the HC noted in its order on April 24 that Sahil Khan is “directly connected” with ‘The Lion Book 247’ app.
“The investigation has revealed that there were 67 betting websites and importantly more than 2,000 bogus SIM cards were used for chatting, depositing and withdrawal. More than 1,700 fake bank accounts were used. The money transaction was through hawala and cryptocurrency. The accused had used Telegram channel, WhatsApp etc. and had induced many people including the young generation to trap them in their net,” High Court judge Justice S.V. Kotwal noted.
