The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has recently made two more arrests in connection with the Mahadev online betting and gaming app case. Nitin Tibrewal, residing in Kolkata, and Amit Agrawal from Raipur were taken into custody under various sections of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). They were produced before a special court in Raipur on Friday, and the court has remanded them to ED custody until January 17, as reported by PTI.
Nitin Tibrewal is believed to be a close associate of Vikash Chapparia, a key accused in the case. Tibrewal is alleged to have acquired undisclosed properties in Dubai and is a major shareholder in an FPI company alongside Chapparia. The ED suspects that these assets were purchased using the proceeds of crime generated from the Mahadev app profits.
Amit Agrawal, a relative of another accused, Anil Kumar Agrawal, is alleged to have received funds from the Mahadev app and his wife is said to have acquired several properties along with another accused, Anil Dammani.
The ED, in its ongoing investigation, had earlier arrested individuals like Asim Das, Bheem Singh Yadav, Chandrabhushan Verma, Anil and Sunil Dammani, and Satish Chandrakar. The agency has filed two charge sheets in this case, targeting the main promoters Sourabh Chandrakar and Ravi Uppal, who were detained in Dubai recently.
The ED alleges that the illegal funds from the Mahadev app were used for paying bribes to politicians and bureaucrats in the state. The agency had also summoned various celebrities and Bollywood actors for questioning regarding their links with the online betting platform and payment methods.
In a previous charge sheet, the ED claimed that Chandrakar, one of the main promoters, spent a significant amount in cash on his wedding in the UAE, hiring private jets and celebrities for the event. The projected proceeds of crime in this case are estimated to be around Rs 6,000 crore, according to the ED.
Notably, the agency had alleged that Mahadev betting app promoters paid around Rs 508 crore to former Chhattisgarh chief minister Bhupesh Baghel, a charge vehemently denied by Baghel and termed as "vendetta politics" by the Congress.
