RAIPUR: In a significant development, Enforcement Directorate (ED) has attached/confiscated 19 properties belonging to a number of accused in connection with a money laundering case linked to the multi-crore alleged Mahadev Online Betting Book App or Mahadev App.
According to the information received, the Raipur unit of the ED has confiscated as many as 19 properties spanning across around 200 acres in Abhanpur and Raipur blocks. The properties confiscated by the ED belongs to Srijan associates, businessmen Sunil and Anil Dammani and Madhuri Verma.
Properties linked with Srijan associates has been confiscated in Abhanpur while a farm house belonging to Sunil Damanni in Temri has also been confiscated by the ED, suggest reports. The total estimated market value of the properties seized by the agency is around Rs500 crore.
According to the details, the ED has also written to the registry office to block any sale/procurement of the confiscated properties.
The action has been taken in connection with a money laundering case being investigated by the agency against the accused. It is being speculated that the said properties might be auctioned in the future.
Odisha police apprehends Raipur based businessman
Meanwhile in another related development, a man indulged in business of medical drugs has been apprehended by the Odisha police. The arrested individual Ashwini Pal, a resident of Gudiyari of Raipur has been recently served notices by the Odisha and the Uttar Pradesh police.
According to the details, the said businessman was on the radar of the investigative agency after transactions worth crores were found in his bank account. It is being speculated that the money channelized through his account might be deposited by the people associated with the online gambling app. The case is further being investigated by the agency.
The Mahadev Book Online Betting Platform
Notably, according to the findings of the probe done by ED, the Mahadev betting app used an online book betting application to enrol new users, create user IDs, and launder money through a string of Benami bank accounts. The application reportedly generated an amount close to Rs 200 crores daily, leading to speculation of accumulation of thousands of crores (around Rs 6000 crore) by the app promoters.
The ED began its probe into the matter after one of the promoters of the app, Saurabh Chandrakar, arranged a lavish wedding in UAE where private jets were used by the accused to ferry the family members from Nagpur in February last year. The accused allegedly spent around 250 crores in the wedding ceremony, where a number of Bollywood stars also performed. Later on, it was revealed that the whole amount spent on the wedding was paid entirely in cash.
It is worth mentioning here that other than the ED, the state police of Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh and Uttar Pradesh are also investigating separate cases linked with the multi-crore scam which have led to arrest of a number of panel operators and other accused associated with the main promoters of the app. Further a number of Bollywood celebrities’ associated with the app promoters are also under the scrutiny of the investigative agencies and the police.
Meanwhile, the Chhattisgarh Government in August this year had confirmed that all the cases linked with the multi-crore scam in the state will be soon handed over to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) for investigation.
