Sourabh Chandrakar, the mastermind behind the Mahadev online betting app has been arrested in Dubai following an Interpol Red Corner notice issued at the request of the Enforcement Directorate (ED), officials said on Friday.
According to officials, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) authorities officially informed their counterparts in the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) yesterday about Chandrakar's arrest.
ED officials announced that the documentation process for Chandrakar's extradition will be completed in the coming days and submitted to the UAE authorities to facilitate his return to India.
Last year in Dubai, after the ED requested the issuance of a Red Notice (RN) against Chandrakar, he and another promoter of the app, Ravi Uppal, were detained and placed under "house arrest."
"Not heard anything from UAE authorities yet," Indian consulate sources in Dubai told PTI.
The ED has claimed that its investigation into the Mahadev Online Book (MOB) gaming and betting app has revealed the involvement of several high-ranking politicians and bureaucrats from Chhattisgarh, the home state of Chandrakar and Uppal. According to PTI reports citing federal agency, the MOB app operates as an umbrella syndicate, facilitating illegal betting by providing online platforms that allow for user enrollment, creation of user IDs, and laundering money through a complex network of proxy bank accounts.
The ED has arrested a total of 11 individuals in connection with this case and has filed two charge sheets so far.
(With ANI, PTI Inputs)
