NEW DELHI: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has filed a chargesheet against YouTuber Siddharth Yadav, alias Elvish Yadav, singer Rahul Yadav, alias Fazilpuria, and two others for money laundering in connection with an alleged wildlife crime involving protected snakes and lizards, official sources said.
The prosecution complaint was filed on October 13 before a special Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) court in Gurugram, Haryana. The court is yet to take cognisance of the chargesheet.
Yadav, Fazilpuria, a company named Sky Digital India Pvt. Ltd., and its director Gurkaran Singh Dhaliwal have been named as accused, the sources said. According to the ED, the content of Fazilpuria’s online platform was managed and monetised by Sky Digital India.
Yadav has been accused of generating and possessing “proceeds of crime” worth Rs 84,000 from the monetisation of an “offending” video uploaded in 2023 that depicted live snakes and an iguana — a protected species of lizard. The agency said he is the “owner and operator” of the YouTube channel Elvish Yadav Vlogs and exercises full control over its content and monetisation.
A video titled “Fazilpuria Bhai Ke Shoot Pe Russian Se Mulakat Ho Hi Gayi @fazilpuria” was created using live snakes and an iguana, violating provisions of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, and uploaded on March 23, 2023, the ED said.
Fazilpuria has been charged for a similar offence for his music video “32 Bore”, in which protected species were allegedly used. He has been accused of generating proceeds of crime worth over Rs 50 lakh, the ED said. The agency has provisionally attached a land parcel worth Rs 50 lakh belonging to Fazilpuria in Bijnor, Uttar Pradesh, and a fixed deposit worth Rs 84,000 belonging to Yadav.
The ED alleged that both artists “illegally used protected species of snakes and exotic animals such as iguanas in commercial music videos and vlogs to gain followers and earn money.” Both were questioned by the agency’s Lucknow zonal office.