The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has summoned Bollywood actor Ranbir Kapoor to appear before the agency on Friday in connection with the ‘Mahadev Satta’ app scam (Mahadev Online Book App). The development occurred after several Bollywood actors and social media influencers were reported to be on ED’s radar for carrying out promotional activities for the betting app, through which large-scale hawala transactions were allegedly carried out.
The Bollywood actor will appear before the sleuths of the agency in Raipur, where the federal agency would be seeking several information such as how much money the B town actor has been paid for promotional activities pertaining to the app or is there any contract signed between the actor and the operators of the app.
It’s been reported that apart from Ranbir as many as 12-A Listers, around 100 social media influencers along with 14 celebrities are under scanner for their involvement in promoting the betting app.
ED summons Ranbir Kapoor in Mahadev betting app case
Read @ANI Story | https://t.co/yyVJoC4b8K#RanbirKapoor #EnforcementDirectorate #Mahadevbettingappcase pic.twitter.com/PD5Z6dkTI6
— ANI Digital (@ani_digital) October 4, 2023
The agency has been also looking into the details of the wedding and success party of the Mahadev app promoter, Sourabh Chandrakar in UAE, where family members and celebrities were ferried through private jets and paid a hefty sum of money for performing in the success party.
According to the reports, the ED suspects more than Rs 200 crore was spent by the accused for the wedding celebration in UAE. This includes payments of the celebrities performing in the function who were paid through a event management company roped in for the celebration party.
Mahadev betting app
It is to be noted that earlier the central investigative agency has claimed that the company promoted by Sourabh Chandrakar and Ravi Uppal, residents of Bhilai in Chhattisgarh was being operated from its headquarters in Dubai. According to the investigation of the ED, the company was using the online book betting application to enroll new users, create IDs and launder money through a layered web of unassociated (benami) accounts.
The investigation by the agency has further revealed that the app being run from the UAE, operated by franchising “Panel/Branches” to their known associates on a 70-30 profit ratio and large scale hawala operations are done to siphon off the proceeds of betting to offshore accounts.
Arrest of the accused
Notably, the central investigative agency had arrested Chandrabhushan Verma, ASI of Chhattisgarh police, along with Satish Chandrakar, Hawala operators Anil and Sumit Dumani under the provisions of Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) in connection with the betting app scam in August this year.
The federal agency had also conducted searches against the money laundering networks linked with Mahadev app in cities like Kolkata, Mumbai, Bhopal e.t.c and retrieved large amounts of incriminating documents and had frozen/seized proceeds of crime worth Rs 417 crore in September this year.
ED had also conducted searches on locations of Vinod Verma, political advisor of Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel and OSDs Manish Banchhor and Asish Verma. The federal agency had also called Vinod Verma’s wife, son and brother in law in the case.
ईडी ने अब मेरे परिवार को बुला लिया है। मैं दोनों बेटों पुनर्वसु, तथागत और बहनोई तुकेंद्र वर्मा को ईडी के दफ़्तर छोड़ आया हूं।
कल मेरी पत्नी जया को बुलाया गया है।
केंद्र सरकार के इशारे पर एजेंसियां चाहे जो कर लें वे @bhupeshbaghel जी और उनकी टीम के हौसले नहीं तोड़ सकतीं। pic.twitter.com/bfqbRtcceX
— Vinod Verma (@patrakarvinod) September 6, 2023
Verbal spat over ED’s action
ED action in the case also triggered a verbal spat between the ruling Congress government and the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) where chief minister (CM) Bhupesh Baghel in a press conference in New Delhi alleged the action of the central investigative agency motivated by politics.
Addressing the media, CM Baghel said the action of the agencies suggests that the BJP will not contest election in Chhattisgarh but ED and Income Tax will.
However, contrary to the claims made by CM, leaders of the BJP have alleged that the multi crore scam that has flourished under the nose of the incumbent government was protected by powerful people close to the chief minister’s office (CMO).
Earlier slamming the incumbent government senior leader of the BJP, O.P Chaudhary said that the ED submission before the court on the basis of one of the arrested accused ASI, Chandrabhushan Verma clearly established that he had been routing the protection money received from the promoters of the Mahadev app to the powerful officials and politician of the CMO.
The saffron party leader while dismissing the allegations put up by the CM further said that what would be more shameful than a reputed government agency informing the court about the way this whole extortion apparatus was being protected by the powerful officials and politicians of the CMO.
The BJP stalwart from the state had further alleged that there are serious speculations about the involvement of the D-company led by notorious Dawood Ibrahim who has been providing funds to the anti-Bharat forces since always. A scam worth thousands of crores could not have gone that far without the involvement of any international syndicate.
It is to be noted that the multi-crore online betting scam along with other such alleged scams including the Rs 2000 crore liquor scam unearthed by the ED has been at the forefront of the campaign of the saffron party in the poll-bound state where the state assembly elections are scheduled to be held by November this year.
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