ED attaches Rs 388-crore assets in Mahadev app betting case
The Enforcement Directorate on Saturday said it had attached fresh assets worth about Rs 388 crore in its ongoing money laundering investigation into the Mahadev online betting case in which various high-ranking politicians and bureaucrats from Chhattisgarh are alleged to have been involved.
These include movable assets — investment made by Mauritius-based company Tano Investment Opportunities Fund related to Dubai-based “hawala operator” Hari Shankar Tibrewal through FPI and FDI — and properties in Chhattisgarh, Mumbai and Madhya Pradesh in the name of promoters of multiple betting apps and websites, panel operators and associates of the promoters, the federal agency said in a statement.
A provisional order was issued under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) on December 5 to attach these assets with a total value of Rs 387.99 crore, the ED added.
The ED has issued multiple such orders during the probe, and with the latest order, assets worth Rs 2,295.61 crore have been frozen, attached or seized so far. Besides, 11 people have been arrested in this case and the ED has filed four chargesheets.
According to the ED, the Mahadev app is an umbrella syndicate arranging online platforms for enabling illegal betting websites to enrol new users, create user IDs and launder money through a layered web of benami bank accounts.
