Ranbir Kapoor Summoned In Gaming App Case: What We Know So Far

Alleges actor endorsed the app on social media and accepted payments which it treats as proceeds of crime
Rashmi Rajput (THE ECONOMIC TIMES; October 5, 2023)

Mumbai: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has summoned Bollywood actor Ranbir Kapoor in connection with its probe into illegal online betting platform Mahadev Book app. The actor has been asked to appear before the agency on Friday. According to the ED, the actor had endorsed the illegal app on social media and accepted payments which the agency is treating as proceeds of crime. Kapoor wa sn’t immediately available for a comment.

Mahadev Book App is an umbrella syndicate that allows betting websites to enroll new users and create user IDs, according to the ED. Being run from the UAE, it is into online betting and gambling, which are illegal in India.

“Since this is the first summon, Kapoor could present himself in person or represent himself through a representative,” said an official privy to the development. The agency wants to know the contact and payment details from the actor.

“Kapoor would have been approached by their associates in India. We want to get details of the point person(s) as the main accused are on the run and are suspected to be holed up in Dubai. Also, the payments made to the actor are suspected to be in cash; we want to know who made the payments, the timeline of these payments and i f this was through any hawala operator,” added the official.

Other than Kapoor, the ED is probing at least a dozen celebrities, sportspeople and around 100 social media influencers who promoted the app and allegedly received payments. This is separate from a doze n Bollywood personalities, including prominent actors and singers, who are under the scanner of the ED for allegedly receiving payments for attending or performing at the wedding of Sourabh Chandrakar, one of the founders of the platform, in the UAE.

According to the ED that probes money-laundering cases, most of the payments to the celebrities were made in cash through hawal a channels. An ad for the app on social media features actors Boman Irani, Shakti Kapoor, Amisha Patel, Sonakshi Sinha and Sharddha Kapoor. So far, the ED hasn’t summoned any of them.
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Vijay V Singh (THE TIMES OF INDIA; October 5, 2023)

Mumbai: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has summoned actor Ranbir Kapoor to its Raipur office on Friday for a statement in a money laundering case connected to the Mahadev Book Online gaming-betting app.

Sources said Kapoor had promoted one of the Mahadev apps and ED is probing the details of his fees. A few sports personalities, including foreign cricketers, are also apparently under the ED scanner in the case.

Kapoor is the first Bollywood celebrity, among over a dozen who had endorsed/promoted the apps, to be summoned. Over a 100 social media influencers were also involved and some of them may also be called for questioning.

One of the Kapoor’s public relationship managers said he was unaware of the issue and hence unable to comment

The ED money laundering case is against Mahadev Book Online, its promoter Saurabh Chandrakar, his partner Ravi Uppal, and others. Chandrakar and Uppal are from Bhilai in Chhattisgarh and are now based in Dubai. The ED investigation found the two had earned several thousand crores in the last few years by running the illegal gaming-betting apps with help of local associates.

Sources said Mahadev was operating several gaming-betting apps through Mumbai and Chhattisgarh-based panel operators. “The group was generating Rs 200 crore profit daily,” said a source.

The group would advertise Indian WhatsApp numbers through celebrities and social-media influencers. Once customers sent messages, their details would get diverted to control centres in Nepal, Sri Lanka and UAE. They would provide log-in IDs for playing games. These details would be shared with over 4,000 panel operators.

The panel operators would coordinate further with customers on providing bank or UPI details to play games or place bets. The operators would maintain records on a dai ly basis and send profit shares of the Mahadev group promoters to Dubai every Monday through hawala.

“They were operating on a 40:60 ratio and the apps were designed in such a way that whatever money was collected from the users, 60% would get returned as winnings. Of the remaining 40%, 70% would go to Dubai and the remaining 30% was the panel operator’s profit,” said an ED source.

The sources said they were operating in India illegally, had no office and avoided tax payment. The Mahadev websites’ domain was registered in the Netherlands. “They projected their betting app as agame of skill and knowledge, although it’s purely gambling,” said the ED source.