Mahadev Betting App Case: ED Probe Finds Dummy Companies Used To Funnel Funds Into Stock Market

An investigation into the multi-crore Mahadev online book illegal betting app scam has uncovered that the bank transactions of fictitious companies were used for investments in the stock market.

Following the arrest of Suraj Chokhani, the Indian link to the absconding promoters of the Mahadev app, it has surfaced that Chokhani purportedly rerouted INR 423 Cr (as of February 29) through companies under his directorship to stock portfolios via a betting website named ‘skyexchange’.

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) posits that a significant portion of these funds was channelled into small and mid-cap stocks, ET reported.

Chokhani has been pinpointed as the primary associate of Hari Shankar Tibrewal, whom the Enforcement Directorate (ED) suspects of purportedly laundering illicit proceeds under the guise of share investments.

As per the ED’s findings, the duo converted the cash received by the promoters via hawala channels into bank entries, employing the services of professional entry operators.

ED arrested Girish Talreja and Suraj Chokhani, as part of its probe in the Mahadev betting app scam recently.

In a statement, the probe agency said that ED Raipur arrested Girish Talreja on March 2 and Suraj Chokhani on the following day under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002.

Through its investigations, the ED said it uncovered that Talreja has a stake in the operations of Lotus365, which is identified as a sister concern of Mahadev Online Book. Talreja, it claimed, is a partner of Sourabh Chandrakar, a key accused in the Mahadev betting scam, in the illegal operations of Lotus365.

“Searches at the premises of the associates of Hari Shankar Tibrewal including Suraj Chokhani in Kolkata had revealed that the majority of source for these investments has been collected by way of receiving bank entries against cash in these companies and utilising the proceeds for investment in share market,” the ED said.

The Indian companies under control of associates of Hari Shankar Tibrewal held around securities worth INR 580 Cr in stock portfolios. That the foreign entities also invested in India via the FPI route and as on Febraury 29 they were found to be holding securities worth INR 606 Cr in stock portfolios.

The Mahadev scam drew public attention after Chandrakar’s extravagant wedding in Dubai in February 2023, reportedly costing upwards of INR 200 crore. The lavish event featured performances by renowned personalities such as Vishal Dadlani, Tiger Shroff, Sunny Leone, Neha Kakkar, Nushrratt Bharuccha, and several others.

Seven months later, ED initiated a crackdown and disclosed the Mahadev app online betting scam. The agency also interrogated numerous Bollywood celebrities in connection with the case. In January of this year, it submitted a chargesheet in a special court in Raipur following its investigation.

Update: Some changes have been made to the story based on the updates in the original report by ET.