A special CBI court in Raipur on Thursday remanded Saurabh Chandrakar, the alleged kingpin of the Rs 6,000-crore Mahadev online betting app scam, to judicial custody till November 19, his lawyer said.
Chandrakar, extradited from Oman earlier this month, was produced before Special Judge (CBI) Manoj Kumar Singh Thakur upon the expiry of his eight-day custodial remand in the central agency, his counsel Tushar Giri told reporters in the Chhattisgarh capital.
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), probing the scam, did not seek further custodial remand of the accused, following which the court sent Chandrakar, a co-promoter of the betting app, to judicial custody till November 19, he said.
He will be lodged in Raipur Central Jail.
Meanwhile, the Enforcement Directorate (ED), which has been probing the money laundering angle in the case, moved an application before the CBI court seeking execution of a non-bailable warrant earlier issued against Chandrakar.
However, the court dismissed the application, Giri said.
ED counsel Sourabh Kumar Pande said the agency would now move an application before the PMLA (Prevention of Money Laundering Act) court seeking arrest of Chandrakar in the money laundering case.
After being extradited from Oman, Chandrakar was on November 4 produced in Raipur's CBI court, which granted his eight-day custody to the central investigative agency and allowed it to take him to Delhi for questioning.
According to the CBI, investigations have revealed that Mahadev Online Book was among the country's largest illegal online betting syndicates, allegedly operated from outside India through a network of franchised panels and branches.
The platform allegedly facilitated betting on cricket, football, card games and other events, enrolling users and collecting stakes through its network across the country, said the probe agency.
The agency alleged that proceeds generated through illegal betting were routed through numerous mule bank accounts, layered through multiple transactions and transferred abroad through hawala channels. A part of the proceeds was also allegedly used to pay protection money to public servants to ensure the syndicate operated without hindrance.
The ED is separately investigating the alleged money laundering linked to the Mahadev app. The case came to light during the erstwhile Congress government led by Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel in Chhattisgarh (2018-23).
The ED had earlier claimed that its probe revealed the involvement of several high-ranking politicians and bureaucrats from the state in the money laundering case.
After the BJP government assumed office in December 2023, the state's Economic Offences Wing (EOW) registered an FIR in March 2024 based on an ED report, invoking charges of criminal conspiracy, cheating and provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act in the case.
Former Chief Minister and senior Congress leader Baghel, app promoters Ravi Uppal, Saurabh Chandrakar, Shubham Soni and Anil Kumar Agrawal, along with 14 others, were named as accused in the EOW FIR.
In August 2024, the state government handed over 70 cases related to the alleged betting app scam registered at various police stations, along with one EOW case, to the CBI.
The ED has estimated the proceeds of crime in the alleged scam at around Rs 6,000 crore and attached several properties linked to the syndicate.
Chandrakar and co-accused Ravi Uppal, both residents of Durg district in Chhattisgarh, allegedly promoted the Mahadev Book App and operated online betting through a network of panel and branch operators.
Hundreds of bank accounts were allegedly opened on a commission basis to route the proceeds of illegal betting to the UAE. The accused allegedly operated the syndicate from Dubai, described as its "head office", and employed a large number of youths from Chhattisgarh as managers, the agency said.
(With inputs from PTI)
