Mahadev betting app case: ED summons Bollywood actor Ranbir Kapoor
The central anti-money laundering agency has alleged that the actor received money from the promoters of the app for performing at the wedding of one of them
Casting its net wider, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) has summoned actor Ranbir Kapoor for questioning on Friday (October 6) in connection with the Mahadev betting application money laundering case of Chhattisgarh, officials said on Wednesday (October 4).
They said the agency had alleged Kapoor received money from the promoters of the app for performing at the wedding of one of the promoters. The ED has asked Kapoor to appear at the Raipur office of the agency on October 6, they said.
Around 14-15 other celebrities and actors are under the ED scanner in the case and they will also be summoned soon, sources said.
The company promoted by Sourabh Chandrakar and Ravi Uppal was running operations from Dubai. It was using the online book betting application to enrol new users, create IDs and launder money through a layered web of benami bank accounts, the agency has alleged.
The ED investigation has shown that Mahadev Online Book App is run from a central head office in the UAE, officials said. It operates by franchising “Panel/Branches” to their known associates on a 70–30 percent profit ratio, the agency has alleged.
Large-scale hawala operations are conducted to siphon off the proceeds of betting to off-shore accounts, the ED has said. Large expenditure in cash is also being done in India to advertise betting websites to attract new users and franchise (panel) seekers, according to the ED.
The company promoters hail from Bhilai in Chhattisgarh and the Mahadev online book betting application is an umbrella syndicate arranging online platforms for enabling illegal betting websites.
(With agency inputs)