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Bangladesh cricketer Shakib Al Hasan. (Photo: AP)
Mumbai , UPDATED: Mar 8, 2024 23:30 IST
The name of star Bangladeshi cricketer Shakib Al Hasan’s sister has emerged in the probe by the Enforcement Directorate in connection with the Mahadev online betting app case.
In a statement released on Friday, the Enforcement Directorate said two more people were arrested during its probe into the case. The duo, Girish Talreja and Suraj Chokhani are said to be close associates of one of the promoters of Mahadev app, Hari Shankar Tibrewal, who is a hawala operator based in Dubai.
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The probe agency had conducted raids on Tibrewal’s premises, which revealed that he owned and operated one of the illegal betting websites, namely ‘skyexchange’. Through his Dubai-based entities, he had been investing the betting proceeds in the Indian Stock Market by way of the Foreign Portfolio Investment (FPI) route.
According to the Enforcement Directorate, Suraj Chokhani used to invest Tribewal’s money in stocks of listed companies. Besides this, Chokhani invested in an app 11wicket.com in Bangladesh, in which one of his partners is Janatul Hasan, sister of Bangladesh cricketer Shakib Al-Hasan.
Chokhani had also invested Rs 40 crores in Deltin Casino Kathmandu in Nepal and held a major stake in the casino. This investment was done from proceeds of crime earned through Lotus 365 and Mahadev book app.
The probe further revealed that Girish Talreja holds stake in the operations of Lotus365, which is a sister concern of Mahadev Online Book. He is also a partner along with Ratan Lal Jain and Sourabh Chandrakar in the illegal operations of Lotus365.
The probe agency also recovered Rs 1 crore in cash following its raids on multiple locations. In total, movable properties worth Rs 1764.5 crore have been frozen by the Enforcement Directorate under the PMLA in the money laundering case.
Prior to the recent arrests, nine other individuals had been apprehended in connection with the case. In January, the Enforcement Directorate arrested two more persons in connection with its money laundering probe into the Mahadev online betting and gaming app case. The two accused, identified as Nitin Tibrewal and Amit Agrawal, were arrested.
According to the Enforcement Directorate, the Mahadev app case is a high-profile scandal involving an online betting platform that enabled illegal gambling on various games, such as poker, card games, badminton, tennis, football and cricket. The agency’s probe has found that the Mahadev app operated by franchising “panel and branches” to known associates on a 70-30 profit ratio, using the platform to enrol new users, create IDs, and launder money through a complex network of Benami bank accounts. The operation reportedly generated an astounding Rs 200 crore daily.
The app was run by Dubai-based Saurabh Chandrakar, who was a former juice seller, and his accomplice Ravi Uppal, both of whom hail from Chhattisgarh.
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