ED has taken major action in the Mahadev Online Book Case, one of the most talked about online betting cases in the country. Raipur zonal office of ED has attached properties worth about Rs 1700 crore under PMLA on 24 March 2026. This action is spread across India as well as abroad, which includes 18 properties in Dubai and 2 in New Delhi.
What else came to light in the ED investigation?
ED investigation has revealed that the accused had purchased luxury properties in posh areas of Dubai with the money earned from speculation. These include luxurious villas and apartments at Dubai Hills Estate, high-end flats at Business Bay and SLS Hotel & Residences and apartments at the world’s tallest building, Burj Khalifa. All these properties are at very prime locations and their price is in crores.
According to the investigating agency, these properties are in the name of the main accused of Mahadev online book, Saurabh Chandrakar and his associates. These associates include names like Vikas Chappariya, Rohit Gulati, Atul Arora, Nitin Tibrewal and Surendra Bagri. ED says that all these people were part of this entire betting network and were playing an important role in investing the illegal earnings.
ED reveals – this is an international betting syndicate
ED investigation has also revealed that Mahadev Online Book is not an ordinary app, but a big international betting syndicate. This network used to run betting through many online platforms like Tiger Exchange, Gold 365 and Ledger 247. Its network was spread through panels and branches across the country, while it was controlled by Saurabh Chandrakar and Ravi Uppal from Dubai.
The working method of this syndicate was also very well planned. Investigation has revealed that about 70-75 percent of the total earnings were kept by the promoters, while the remaining portion was distributed among the operators working below. Very complex methods were also adopted to convert black money into white.
Thousands of fake bank accounts used
According to ED, thousands of fake bank accounts were used, in which KYC documents of common people were misused. After this, money was sent abroad through hawala and cryptocurrency and then expensive properties were purchased in Dubai and India with the same money.
In this case, ED has so far raided more than 175 places. 13 people have been arrested and a case has been registered against 74 accused. Besides, five charge sheets have also been filed in the special court. The agency has also started the process of declaring many accused including Saurabh Chandrakar, Ravi Uppal as fugitive economic offenders. Till now, ED has attached or frozen properties worth about Rs 4336 crore in this entire case. ED says that the investigation is still going on and efforts have been intensified to nab the accused sitting abroad.
Also read: ‘Sending notice through WhatsApp to arrest is a violation of fundamental rights’, High Court strict, SP guilty of contempt