NEW DELHI: During the Enforcement Directorate’s (ED) ongoing probe into illegal betting networks, investigators have traced a staggering Rs 331.36 crore in suspicious deposits to the bank account of a Delhi-based Rapido bike-taxi driver an unsuspecting gig worker who lives in a two-room shanty and reportedly had no knowledge of the transactions flowing through his name.
What began as a routine investigation into 1xBet’s money-laundering operations has now unearthed a sprawling financial chain involving mule accounts, forged signatures, suspicious cash dealings, and a luxury destination wedding linked to a political functionary.
According to ED findings, Gujarat Youth Congress leader Aditya Jula has surfaced in the probe after investigators discovered that he allegedly issued a wedding contract to Taj Aravalli Resort using fake signatures for a high-profile November 2024 event in Udaipur.
The agency further found that Jula allegedly handed Rs 18 lakh in cash and 17 different PAN numbers to a travel agent in an attempt to “adjust” or reroute payments connected to the resort booking raising major red flags regarding the origin and movement of funds used for the event.
ED officials confirmed that over Rs 1 crore from the Rapido driver’s bank account was used to settle bills for the extravagant destination wedding linked to Jula. Investigators say the driver’s account was being operated as a mule, receiving huge sums from unidentified sources and transferring them within minutes to other suspicious accounts.
Between August 19, 2024, and April 16, 2025, a total of Rs 331.36 crore passed through the driver’s account—an amount completely disproportionate to his daily earnings from bike taxi rides.
Raids at his residence revealed no lifestyle indicators matching the movement of such colossal sums. The driver told ED he had no knowledge of the transactions and never authorized high-value transfers, suggesting his identity and bank account may have been exploited using fraudulent or rented KYC credentials.
Officials disclosed that one of the funding sources flowing into the mule account has been conclusively linked to the 1xBet illegal betting network.
Funds would be deposited from unknown entities, routed through the driver’s account, and immediately transferred to multiple other accounts designed to disguise their origin.
This laundering pattern, ED says, reveals a well-structured financial architecture created to divert illegal betting proceeds into legitimate-looking events, including luxury weddings.
Investigators believe the simplicity of the operation the use of everyday citizens’ accounts with minimal scrutiny was precisely why the laundering network evaded detection for months. ED officials described it as a robust, multi-layered chain of mule accounts, gradually piecing together the flow of money from unlawful online betting platforms to high-profile social and political events.
The agency has recently intensified its push against betting-linked laundering, attaching assets belonging to former cricketers Shikhar Dhawan and Suresh Raina and questioning over a dozen public figures in connection with the 1xBet case.
Meanwhile, Rapido distanced itself from the controversy, stating, “The individual is one of two crore registered captains on our platform. Rapido has no role or involvement in the matter. The alleged actions are personal.”
