Wednesday | May 07 2025 | 10:51:53 PM
New Delhi, April 22
The Directorate of Enforcement (ED), after conducting raids in connection with the Mahadev betting app case, seized cash worth Rs 3.29 crore, freezed securities, bonds, and DEMAT accounts worth more than Rs 573 crore.
The probe agency also seized various incriminating documents and electronic records.
ED had conducted search operations at various premises located in Delhi, Mumbai, Indore, Ahmedabad, Chandigarh, Chennai, and Sambalpur (Odisha) under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002 in the Mahadev betting app case.
The entities covered in the searches included Vikas Ecotech Ltd., JTL Industries, Industrial Investment Trust Ltd. (IITL), EaseMyTrip, and others.
ED investigations have revealed that Mahadev Online Book Betting App (an umbrella syndicate facilitating online platforms for illegal betting websites to enroll new users and create user IDs) generated and laundered a substantial amount of Proceeds of Crime (POC) through a complex web of benami bank accounts. The investigation further revealed that the funds generated by these betting platforms were being transferred out of India and later invested in the Indian stock market in the name of “foreign FPIs” (based in Mauritius, Dubai, etc.).
The funds were introduced into certain companies to cause “artificial price fluctuations” in SME sector securities, thereby deceiving common investors. Some of these investments have been identified and frozen during the searches.
ED has so far conducted searches at more than 170 premises. As a result of the investigation, immovable and movable assets valued at approximately Rs 3,002.47 crore have been seized, frozen, or attached in the case.
The federal probe agency has also arrested 13 individuals in connection with the case, while 74 entities have been named as accused in the five prosecution complaints filed.
