New Delhi: Ranbir Kapoor was summoned on Wednesday by the Enforcement Directorate in connection with the Mahadev online betting app case. He was asked to be present in front of the probe agency on October 10. Ranbir Kapoor has been a social media influencer for the online betting platform.
The 'Tu Jhoothi Main Makkar' actor has carried out several promotional social media campaigns and has also been paid by the company. Several Bollywood actors and celebrities are now under the radar of the probe agency for attending the lavish wedding of Sourabh Chandrakar, the co-promoter of the online betting app in Dubai.
A Hindustan Times report quotes agency sources and shared that several celebrities can come under the scanner and be summoned in the money laundering case against the platform.
What is the Mahadev online betting app case
The central investigating agency has carried out probes in cities like Bhopal, Mumbai, Kolkata in relation to the alleged money laundering networks which are connected to the Mahadev Online Booking App, which has its headquarters in the UAE.
As per several media reports, the case revolves around large scale hawala operations being done using the platform to siphon off proceeds of betting to off-shore accounts.
Chandrakar and MOB platform’s other promoter Ravi Uppal have created an empire for themselves in the UAE. The sudden and illegal riches are being openly flaunted by them,” Hindustan Times quoted ED sources as saying.
The promoter of the platform allegedly spent Rs. 200 cr on the wedding and the agency is now trying to trace the money trail to establish the end-beneficiaries, the same HT report quoted sources close to the development.
According to the investigation, celebrities who performed in the wedding were paid a hefty sum of fees through dubious transactions. "Private jets were hired to ferry family members of the wedding party from Nagpur to UAE, celebrities were hired to perform in the marriage and wedding planners, dancers, decorators, etc, were hired from Mumbai and hawala channels were used to make the payments in cash,” the same report added.
In the recent searches conducted across various cities, ED seized and froze assets worth Rs. 417 cr. Kolkata-based Vikash Chhaparia was responsible for handling all the hawala-related operations for the betting platform.