Mahadev betting scam: Kingpin Sourabh Chandrakar arrested in Dubai; likely to be deported to India

Mahadev online betting app promoter Sourabh Chandrakar was arrested in Dubai on Friday. This development came after the Interpol Red Corner issued a notice upon the request of the Enforcement Directorate (ED), officials said on Friday.

Kingpin Sourabh Chandrakar is likely to be deported to India. The officials stated that the United Arab Emirates (UAE) authorities officially communicated with their counterparts in the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) on October 9, informing about the arrest of Chandrakar.

According to Enforcement Directorate (ED) officials, the documentation process for the extradition will be finalised in the next few days. To facilitate Chandrakar's return to India, these documents will be submitted to the UAE authorities. The betting app promoter was apprehended almost 10 months after he was put under "house detention" in Dubai in connection with purported illegal activities of the 'Mahadev Book Online' app. The UAE government ‘alerted’ Indian probe agencies after this move.

To ensure the extradition of Sourabh Chandrakar, who is crucial to the money laundering case, engagement involving diplomatic channels is underway. The money laundering case Indian federal probe agencies are investigating is connected with political figures in Chhattisgarh and other regions, sources familiar with the matter informed ANI.

The ED had named Sourabh Chandrakar, Uppal, and several others in its initial charge sheet submitted to a special Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) court in Raipur. The charge sheet mentions that Dilip Chandrakar, the uncle of Sourabh Chandrakar, along with his brother operated a juice shop called ‘Juice Factory’ in Chhattisgarh's Bhilai.

Estimating the projected proceeds of crime in this case to be around ₹6,000 crore, the ED alleged that Sourabh Chandrakar spent around ₹200 crore in cash during his wedding event in February last year which was held in UAE's Ras Al Khaimah. This included hiring of private jets to transport relatives from India and payments to celebrities for performance at the event.

(With ANI inputs)