The directorate of enforcement (ED) has provisionally attached movable and immovable assets worth about ₹940.77 crore linked to Vikas Garg, his family members and entities controlled by him as part of its ongoing money laundering investigation into the Mahadev Online Book and Skyexchange illegal online betting syndicate.
The fresh attachment, carried out by the ED's Raipur zonal office under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002, includes residential properties, land parcels, equity shares and other securities.
According to the agency, the latest action forms part of its continuing investigation into the alleged laundering of proceeds generated through illegal online betting platforms.
ED said its investigation was initiated on the basis of a first information report (FIR) registered by the Chhattisgarh police in Durg, along with several other FIRs filed by police authorities in Chhattisgarh, Andhra Pradesh, West Bengal and other states against operators, promoters and associates of the betting platforms on charges including criminal conspiracy, cheating and forgery.
During the investigation, the agency allegedly found that the betting syndicate operated through a franchise-based 'panel' network managed from overseas and generated proceeds of crime exceeding ₹450 crore every month through illegal betting activities.
According to ED, the illicit proceeds generated by the Mahadev Online Book and Skyexchange platforms were laundered through a complex web of shell companies, accommodation entries and layered financial transactions intended to disguise the source of the funds.
The agency alleged that proceeds of crime amounting to about ₹940.77 crore were routed into entities owned and controlled by Mr Garg. These funds were subsequently layered through multiple entities and utilised for acquiring shares, securities and other assets.
The latest attachment follows several enforcement actions already taken in the case. ED said it has so far issued seven provisional attachment orders and filed prosecution complaints, including supplementary complaints, before the Special Court under the PMLA in Raipur, which has taken cognisance of the offence of money laundering.
Before the present attachment, the agency had attached, seized or frozen movable and immovable assets worth about ₹2,825 crore, including overseas properties. With the latest attachment, the cumulative value of assets attached, seized or frozen in the Mahadev Online Book investigation has risen to about ₹3,800 crore, ED said.
The Mahadev Online Book case is one of the country's biggest investigations into alleged illegal online betting and money laundering.
The agency had then alleged that the properties belonged to Sourabh Chandrakar, one of the alleged promoters of the Mahadev Online Book platform, through entities linked to him and his associates. The ED has also alleged that the syndicate operated several online betting platforms, including Tiger Exchange, Gold365 and Laser247, from Dubai through a franchise-based network.
According to ED, the promoters allegedly retained 70% to 75% of the profits generated from the betting operations, while the remaining earnings were distributed among panel operators. The agency has alleged that the proceeds were moved through thousands of mule bank accounts before being transferred abroad via hawala channels and cryptocurrencies and invested in high-value assets in India and overseas.
The ED said further investigation into the case is continuing.
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