The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has stepped up its action against Indore Congress leader Vishal alias Golu Agnihotri, who is the city’s working president of the party. In the biggest ever crackdown on illegal dabba trading and foreign-linked online betting rackets, the agency has officially designated Agnihotri as a “dabba trader” and imposed properties worth Rs. 34.26 crore of him, his relatives, and their family members. The total value of attached or seized assets in the case is now at Rs 58.39 crore.
The properties, officials at ED say, range from flats and plots to agricultural land, luxury timepieces, money, gold, and silver, with the true market value estimated to be much more, perhaps four times higher than that that appears in records.
In its September 9 press note, the ED stated that the attached properties are both movable and immovable belonging to Agnihotri, Tarun Shrivastava, Hitesh Agrawal, Dharmesh Rajnikant Trivedi, Srinivasan Ramasamy, Karan Solanki, Dhaval Devraj Jain, and their family members.
The agency used provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002, after investigations that started with an FIR registered at Lasudia Police Station in Indore under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 9 January 2025.
Web of illegal platforms
The probe, initiated by FIRs filed at Lasudia Police Station under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita provisions, revealed a massive web of prohibited trading portals and gambling apps. Some of those listed included V Money/VM Trading (M/s Standard Trades Ltd.), 11 Stars, Lotusbook 247, 8 Stock Heights, Goldmine, Vertex, Gamebet League, iBull Capital Ltd., Playbook, Target FX, and World777.
These websites, according to officials, were functioning outside the purview of legal trade mechanisms, attracting users into illegal stock market gambling (dabba trading) and online gambling. The funds amassed were then routed via mule bank accounts, hawala, and layered using cryptocurrency payments to conceal the trail.
As per ED sources, Agnihotri had profit-sharing interests in at least two of these websites, V Money and 11 Stars, and acquired 5 percent administrative rights on the infamous Lotus Book betting website. Subsequently, these rights were partially shifted to associate Dhaval Devraj Jain, while Agnihotri still held a portion of the profits.
Raids across multiple cities
The probe dates back to December 2024, when ED first raided Agnihotri’s Indore residence, coinciding with his return from Dubai. Over the following months, searches were extended to Mumbai, Bhopal, Chennai, and Ahmedabad, where incriminating digital evidence, gold, silver, luxury watches, and cryptocurrency ledgers were seized.
In July 2025, Mumbai raids linked online betting cartels to Indore-based fixers. ED’s Mumbai office found a Dubai connection while it swooped in, seizing Rs 3.3 crore in cash, luxury vehicles, foreign exchange, jewellery, and even note-counting machines.
The operations revealed the extent of the racket: from Indore’s upscale Singapore Township to high-rise apartments in Mumbai and Dubai-based offshore accounts.
Weapons, cash, and contraband
The Indore raids unearthed more than a case of financial irregularities. At the home of associate Tarun Srivastava, ED officials found a desi pistol, two magazines, and live cartridges, all unlicensed, triggering an independent case under the Arms Act. From his residence alone, investigators seized Rs 98 lakh in cash, 46,000 in foreign currency, and close to 60 kg of silver valued at Rs 54.38 lakh.
The raids also uncovered electronic evidence that related the group to Magicwin, an illegal internet cricket betting site believed to be run with Pakistani handlers using Dubai. Proof indicated that Magicwin had illegally broadcast T-20 World Cup matches, generating huge revenues through unregulated bookmaking.
Cryptocurrency and hawala channels
The ED findings point out the way in which conventional hawala networks are now being integrated with cryptocurrency transactions. Betting platforms’ large amounts gathered were forwarded overseas via mule accounts, shell companies, and hawala operators.
The name of hawala operator Mayur Pandya has surfaced prominently, while investigators are examining Agnihotri’s alleged attempts to launch his own cryptocurrency coin. Officials believe he had registered companies in Dubai, often in the names of employees and associates, to facilitate these ventures.
From political office to financial scrutiny
The political fallout of the case is considerable. Agnihotri, a key operator in Indore Congress, is now accused not just of financial wrongdoing but also of suspected foreign connections, with Dubai-based operators and even suspected Pakistan-backed betting syndicates in the spotlight.
Agnihotri, hitherto regarded as close to former Chief Minister Kamal Nath, had established himself in the Congress’s Indore unit. Though he lobbied for tickets in 2013 and 2018 from the Indore-4 assembly constituency, he was rejected candidature and instead promoted to the working president post. His closeness to Nath and increasing financial influence in the commercial capital of Madhya Pradesh had put him in the spotlight. The spotlight has now shifted to a completely different field: financial crime investigation.
A business model built on betting
The modus operandi of dabba trading has again fallen under the spotlight of the public. In contrast to formal SEBI-regulated exchanges, dabba trading is off-record speculative transactions where one places bets on the increase or decrease in stock indices without having any underlying share transaction. Dabba trading relies on word-of-mouth commitments, cash payments, and complete secrecy.
Together with the internet-based betting sites, the model turns into a huge parallel economy that shifts billions beyond the reach of the regulatory authorities. ED officials called it “a shadow financial system” that at the same time takes advantage of unsuspecting investors and routes illegal gains across borders.
Timeline of the case
June 14, 2024: Ujjain police arrested nine people for cricket betting, seizing Rs 14.58 crore cash and gadgets. Agnihotri’s name first surfaced.
December 16, 2024: ED raided Agnihotri’s Indore home upon his return from Dubai.
January 9, 2025: FIR filed at Lasudia police station, which is the foundation of ED’s money laundering investigation.
June-July 2025: Raids carried out in several cities; incriminating materials recovered.
September 9, 2025: ED froze Rs 34.26 crore assets, taking the total seizure value to Rs 58.39 crore.
History of the party
This is not just about one Congress leader getting caught red-handed. This is the story of a party that has corruption flowing from top to bottom while it shamelessly lectures the nation about honesty and governance. From multi-crore scams in Delhi to betting rackets in Madhya Pradesh, Congress leaders are themselves knee-deep in frauds, hawala dealings, and dirty money.
Indore’s case is a glaring example. The “commercial capital” of Madhya Pradesh has now seen its political establishment tainted because of Congress’s rot.
And yet, Congress will continue its hypocrisy, pretending to be the guardian of morality, while its own members run betting syndicates and loot public faith. The party has no moral ground left; it thrives on corruption and then has the audacity to preach against it.
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