Bollywood actor Ranbir Kapoor has been summoned by the Enforcement
Directorate over his alleged involvement in the Mahadev online betting app
case. He was asked to present in front of the probe agency on October 6.
Kapoor has been a social media influencer for the online betting
platform and has reportedly received payments for carrying out promotional
activities for the app.
Many top-notch celebrities, including Bollywood actors, singers and
comedians, are under the scanner of the probe agency for taking part in the
lavish wedding of Sourabh Chandrakar, the co-promoter of the online betting
app, in Dubai.
Agency sources said some of the celebrities are likely to be
summoned as witnesses in the money laundering case against the platform.
The central investigating agency carried out searches in various cities
including Kolkata, Bhopal, Mumbai in relation to the alleged money laundering
networks connected with the Mahadev Online Book App, a betting platform
headquartered in the UAE.
According to the case, large scale hawala operations are allegedly
being done using the platform to siphon off proceeds of betting to off-shore
accounts.
“Chandrakar and MOB platform’s other promoter Ravi Uppal have
created an empire for themselves in the UAE. The sudden and illegal riches are
being openly flaunted by them,” said sources in the ED.
The promoter of the platform allegedly spent ₹200 crore on the
wedding and the agency is trying to trace the money trail to establish the
end-beneficiaries, as per sources.
According to the investigation, celebrities who performed in the
wedding were paid a hefty sum of fees through dubious transactions.
The stars were reportedly paid ₹40 crore by the promoters of the
betting platform to attend a party at a seven-star luxury hotel in Dubai
scheduled for September 18 this year.
In recent searches related to the money laundering activities by
the platform, ED froze or seized assets worth ₹417 crore.
Kolkata-based Vikash Chhaparia was responsible for handling all the
hawala-related operations for the betting platform.
