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Mumbai: A court in Dubai is set to rule on India’s request for the extradition of Ravi Uppal, the 42-year-old co-promoter of Mahadev Online Book (MOB), who is wanted by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in a money laundering investigation against the illegal betting platform.
Sources within the ED said the Dubai court could order Uppal’s extradition if it finds sufficient evidence for him to answer charges in India.
Uppal was arrested in Dubai last December, while his accomplice and fellow co-promoter, Sourabh Chandrakar, 28, was placed under round-the-clock surveillance. This followed Interpol’s issuance of Red Corner Notices (RCNs) against them in October last year. The RCNs, which call for the global arrest or detention of a subject, were issued after a special Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) court in Raipur, Chhattisgarh, issued non-bailable warrants against them on September 4 last year.
Dr Saurabh Kumar Pandey, ED’s special public prosecutor in Raipur, said, “The Dubai court is processing the request for Ravi Uppal’s extradition currently, as per his lawyers. The court will decide whether there is a case for his extradition.” Pandey confirmed Chandrakar’s arrest in Dubai.
ED sources claim that Chandrakar was recently arrested in Dubai based on the RCN against him. The agency will be sending necessary case documents for processing his extradition. The Dubai court will also decide on Chandrakar’s extradition. Both accused can contest the merit of the extradition requests and ED’s allegations against them. If their extradition is ordered, they will be brought to India to face legal proceedings.
Uppal and Chandrakar were among 14 accused named in ED’s first chargesheet submitted to a special PMLA court in Raipur in October last year. Both have denied the agency’s allegations.
The ED alleges that Uppal and Chandrakar used aides in Chhattisgarh to bribe officials and politicians, transferring funds via hawala routes to protect the MOB network from crackdowns.
The agency made its first arrests in August 2023, apprehending four individuals in Chhattisgarh, including an assistant sub-inspector (ASI). The investigation allegedly revealed that Uppal and Chandrakar had sent funds worth at least ₹65 crore over the past few years to the ASI for his use and to bribe state officials and politicians.
ED’s Raipur unit initiated its investigation based on cases registered by police in Chhattisgarh, Visakhapatnam, and other states. MOB began operations in 2019-20, with its user base growing significantly during the pandemic. The platform, which runs about 60 sites, allegedly operates like small franchises on a 30:70 profit-sharing ratio, with the Dubai-based head office taking the larger share.
According to the ED, MOB was making a profit of ₹30- ₹40 lakh per panel or branch monthly until the agency’s crackdown last year. Mahadev Book was incorporated as “Mahadevbook Markets Limited” in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines on June 21, 2021.
Both Uppal and Chandrakar hail from Bhilai, Chhattisgarh, and come from modest backgrounds. Chandrakar allegedly ran a small juice shop until 2017, while Uppal operated a small tyre business. They later allegedly built an online betting empire through makeshift call centres operating closed WhatsApp and Telegram groups, using benami bank accounts for money laundering.
On November 3 last year, the ED claimed to have arrested two accused in Chhattisgarh, including alleged MOB courier Asim Das, recovering ₹5.39 lakh from his vehicle and residence. Das allegedly told the ED that Uppal and Chandrakar had tasked him with delivering cash for the election expenses of the then-ruling Congress party in Chhattisgarh for the November assembly elections. Then-Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel rejected these allegations as politically motivated.
Uppal allegedly obtained a 10-year Vanuatu passport in June 2022 to travel freely. The ED’s investigation suggests that, apart from the accused co-promoters, a group of five others, including German national Lark Marshall, allegedly controlled MOB’s activities.
The agency is also scrutinising Chandrakar’s February 2023 wedding in Dubai, which allegedly cost over ₹200 crore, for potential links to proceeds of crime in the case.
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