ED files fresh chargesheet in Mahadev app case, names 25 accused
RAIPUR: The Enforcement Directorate on Tuesday filed a fresh charge sheet in the Mahadev betting app-linked money laundering case, in which various high-ranking politicians and bureaucrats from Chhattisgarh are alleged to have been involved.
A total of 25 individuals and entities have been named as accused in the third prosecution complaint filed in this case before a special Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) court, ED lawyer Saurabh Pandey said.
The court is expected to take cognisance of the charge sheet on May 4, he said.
Those arraigned in the charge sheet include Girish Talreja and Suraj Chokhani, who were arrested by the ED in this case sometime back, apart from some others.
Talreja held a stake in ‘Lotus365’, a sister concern of Mahadev Online Book (MOB) app. He is a partner along with Ratan Lal Jain alias Aman and Sourabh Chandrakar, the main promoter of MOB, in the illegal operations of ‘Lotus365’, the agency had alleged earlier.
The agency had raided Kolkata premises of a Dubai-based “hawala operator” named Hari
Shankar Tibrewal on February 28 claiming he partnered with the promoters of MOB in illegal operations for betting website “skyexchange”.
“Tibrewal used Suraj Chokhani to launder and hide proceeds of crime under the guise of share investment for Indian companies,” the agency had said in a statement.
The ED has alleged in the past that its probe in the MOB gaming and betting app has shown involvement of various high-ranking politicians and bureaucrats from Chhattisgarh, the state where the two main promoters, Sourabh Chandrakar and Ravi Uppal, of the app hail from.
It had said MOB app is an umbrella syndicate arranging online platforms for enabling illegal betting websites to enrol new users, create user IDs and laundering of money through a layered web of benami bank accounts.
The ED has arrested a total of 11 persons in this case till now. The two main promoters of the app are stated to have been detained in Dubai on the basis of an ED-requested Interpol red notice. The projected proceeds of crime in this case are about Rs 6,000 crore, as per the agency.
figures associated with the company.
Despite the SLA’s recent flurry of activity, the bench remained concerned about the lack of timely legal action. The court has allowed the SLA additional time to submit a more comprehensive affidavit and scheduled the next hearing for May 14, as it continues to address the IMA’s 2022 plea regarding a smear campaign against Covid vaccination and modern medicine practices.
Serum Institute of India, which also produces the vaccine, has been requested for a statement.