Mahadev App scam: Mumbai Police forms special team to probe Rs 15,000 crore fraud

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The Mumbai Crime Branch has taken on the responsibility of investigating the Mahadev betting app case, which was formerly under the jurisdiction of the Matunga police station. To this end, the Mumbai Police has put together a committed team of four experts in financial crime and cyber technology, stated an agency report.

According to the report, allegations of a major 15,000 crore rupee fraud are included in the first complaint (FIR) lodged against the promoters of the Mahadev Book Betting App, Saurabh Chandrakar, Ravi Uppal, Shubham Soni, and 29 others. Match-fixing, illegal hawala transactions, and cryptocurrency transactions are among the charges; the Crime Branch is currently in charge of the investigation.

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"Matunga police have registered a case against more than 30 people, including Mahadev Betting App promoter Saurabh Chandrakar, Ravi Uppal and Shubh Soni, under various sections of fraud and gambling, based on the complaint of Prakash Bankar, a social worker from Matunga," Mumbai police said.

In relation to the betting app controversy, Mumbai Police had earlier on November 14 filed a case against 32 people, including Mohit Burman, the chairman of the company, and Dabur's director, Gaurav Burman. A complaint about fraud and gambling was made by a local social worker named Prakash Bankar, which led to the filing of an FIR at the Matunga police station.

Prakash Bankar claimed that the accused were responsible for a massive 15,000 crore rupee scheme including hawala transactions.

Notably, the Directorate of Enforcement (ED) has been looking into the Mahadev Book Online Betting App syndicate; it has been found that overseas syndicate promoters operate remotely from locations all throughout India. Four arrests, the seizure of earnings totalling more than Rs 450 crore, and a prosecution complaint brought against 14 people have all been revealed by the ED.

Regarding the upcoming November 7-17, 2023, Assembly Elections, ED got intelligence on November 2 that the Mahadev APP promoters are transporting a substantial sum of money through Chhattisgarh. Asim Das, a cash courier purportedly sent from the United Arab Emirates to cover the ruling Congress Party's electioneering expenses, was intercepted as a result of their intervention at the Hotel Triton and another site in Bhilai.

With agency inputs