In a shocking turn of events, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) has set its sights on some of India's most prominent Bollywood actors and singers in connection with an ongoing investigation into the Mahadev online betting case.
The high-profile individuals are expected to be summoned by the agency regarding their involvement in events linked to the app's promoter, Sourabh Chandrakar, including a lavish wedding ceremony and a success party held in the UAE.
Among the notable personalities listed in the investigation are Tiger Shroff, Sunny Leone, Neha Kakkar, Atif Aslam, Rahat Fateh Ali Khan, Ali Asgar, Vishal Dadlani, Elli AvrRam, Bharti Singh, Bhagyashree, Kriti Kharbanda, Nushrratt Bharuccha, Krushna Abhishek, and Sukhwinder Singh.
The Mahadev Book app, an online betting platform, has come under intense scrutiny from the ED and various state police departments.
According to digital evidence collected by the ED, a staggering sum of Rs 112 crore was funneled through hawala channels to an event management company, while an additional Rs 42 crore was paid in cash for hotel bookings.
A video purportedly showing footage from Sourabh Chandrakar's wedding in February this year has surfaced, depicting these Bollywood luminaries in attendance. Furthermore, sources have disclosed that an investigation into the app's success party, organized by Chandrakar and co-promoter Ravi Uppal in September of the previous year, is also underway.
This second event was likewise graced by numerous Bollywood actors and singers, all of whom are now under the ED's investigative microscope.
Sources with knowledge of the matter reveal that these Bollywood bigwigs received substantial cash payments through hawala channels from event management firms for their participation in both events. It has also emerged that a prominent actor was engaged for this year's app success party and was reportedly compensated handsomely by the event agency.
The Enforcement Directorate's actions in the case have been swift and substantial. On Friday, they seized and froze assets valued at a staggering Rs 417 crore in connection with the Mahadev online betting case.
The company behind the app was operating from Dubai and allegedly utilized the online book betting application for the recruitment of new users, the creation of user IDs, and the laundering of money through an intricate network of benami bank accounts.
The ED asserts that large-scale hawala operations were conducted to divert the proceeds of betting to offshore accounts. Furthermore, considerable cash expenditures were made within India for advertising betting websites, aimed at attracting new users and franchise seekers.
The company promoters have their roots in Bhilai, Chhattisgarh, and the Mahadev Online Book Betting application is described as an umbrella syndicate that facilitated various illegal betting websites.
As this investigation unfolds, Bollywood's association with the Mahadev online betting case is sending shockwaves through the entertainment industry and the nation at large. The summoning of these celebrated figures marks a significant development in the ongoing saga of the scandalous Mahadev case.
