04 Nov,2023
Bollywood celebrities like Ranbir Kapoor and Kapil Sharma have been called in for questioning by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in the Mahadev betting app scandal.
Kapil Sharma and Huma Qureshi have already visited the ED's Mumbai office, while Ranbir Kapoor requested a one-week delay in his appearance.
The app allowed gambling on various games, including poker, card games, and sports like badminton, tennis, football, and cricket.
The investigation began after a lavish wedding in the UAE, where around ₹200 crore was paid in cash, raising suspicions.
The wedding's promoters, Sourabh Chandrakar and Ravi Uppal, hired private jets to ferry family members and paid Bollywood celebrities for performances.
Chandrakar allegedly used the betting app to create IDs and launder money through benami bank accounts.
The Mahadev Betting App is operated from the UAE, with franchised "Panel/Branches" in India, Sri Lanka, Nepal, and Pakistan.
Large-scale hawala operations were used to siphon betting proceeds to offshore accounts.
Sourabh Chandrakar and Ravi Uppal went from owning a juice shop and a tire store to establishing the Mahadev betting app, making ₹200 crore daily.