The Aryavarth Express
Agency(New Delhi): The Directorate of Enforcement (ED) has intensified its crackdown on illicit online betting activities, focusing on the “Mahadev Online Book” syndicate, accused of facilitating illegal betting platforms, generating user IDs for new members, and executing sophisticated money laundering schemes through a complex network of fictitious bank accounts. In a series of coordinated raids across Kolkata, Gurugram, Delhi, Indore, Mumbai, and Raipur, the ED has confiscated Rs. 1.86 Crore in cash, valuables estimated at Rs. 1.78 Crore, and identified illicit assets amounting to Rs. 580.78 Crore.
The action follows a thorough investigation initiated on the back of multiple FIRs lodged by the Chhattisgarh Police, with additional cases from Vishakhapatnam and other states being incorporated into the probe. The investigation has uncovered that the operations of “Mahadev Online Book,” managed from Dubai, extend across a network of franchised “Panel/Branches,” distributing profits on a 70%-30% basis with their associates. This network is linked to other online betting platforms like “Reddy Anna” and “Fairplay,” with vast amounts of money being transferred overseas through illegal hawala channels.
Further inquiry led the ED to Hari Shankar Tibrewal, a key figure based in Dubai and a significant hawala operator associated with the “Mahadev Online Book” promoters. Tibrewal, implicated in operating illegal betting sites such as skyexchange, has been found investing betting proceeds in the Indian stock market through the Foreign Portfolio Investment (FPI) route. His involvement extends to directing a series of companies engaged in laundering betting funds into the stock market and facilitating large-scale illegal financial transfers.
The ED’s rigorous search operations at Tibrewal’s premises and those of his associates have resulted in the freezing of security holdings valued at Rs. 580.78 Crore, believed to be owned by him. This action is part of a broader enforcement strategy that has seen movable properties totaling Rs. 572.41 Crore seized or frozen and two Provisional Attachment Orders issued, attaching assets worth Rs. 142.86 Crore. To date, nine individuals have been arrested in connection with this case, with the total value of attachments and seizures in the investigation reaching Rs. 1296.05 Crore.
Prosecution complaints were filed on 20.10.2023 and 01.01.2024, marking a significant step forward in the legal proceedings against the accused. The ED’s ongoing investigation aims to dismantle the extensive illegal betting and money laundering network associated with “Mahadev Online Book,” ensuring that those involved face stringent legal action.