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Sourabh Chandrakar, one of the promoters of the Mahadev online betting app, has been arrested in Dubai following Interpol Red Corner notice issued on the request of the Enforcement Directorate (ED), officials said on Friday.
As per the officials, United Arab Emirates (UAE) authorities officially communicated with their counterparts in the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) yesterday informing about the arrest of Chandrakar. ED officials stated that the documentation process for the extradition will be finalized in the coming days and submitted to the UAE authorities to facilitate Chandrakar's return to India. In December last year, Chandrakar, was put under "house detention" in Dubai and Indian probe agencies, including the ED, were "alerted". According to sources, Indian agencies are engaging through diplomatic channels to secure the deportation or extradition of Chandrakar who is crucial to the money laundering case and police investigation related to the alleged illegal activities of the 'Mahadev Book Online' app, which is connected to political figures in Chhattisgarh and other regions. In its initial charge sheet submitted to a special Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) court in Raipur, the ED had named Chandrakar, Uppal, and several others. The charge sheet referenced a statement from Dilip Chandrakar, the uncle of Sourabh Chandrakar, noting that before Sourabh moved to Dubai in 2019, he operated a juice shop called 'Juice Factory' with his brother in Bhilai, Chhattisgarh. The ED has alleged that Sourabh got married in Ras Al Khaimah, UAE, in February 2023, and that approximately Rs 200 crore in cash was spent on the event, which included hiring private jets to transport relatives from India and paying celebrities to perform. The ED estimates that the projected proceeds of crime in this case amount to approximately Rs 6,000 crore. Officials stated that the ED investigation revealed that the Mahadev Online Book App is managed from a central headquarters in the UAE. It operates by franchising "panels and branches" to associates, sharing profits in a 70-30 per cent ratio. (ANI)
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