Mahadev Betting App Promoter Ravi Uppal Arrested In The UAE: Report

Ravi Uppal, co-promoter of the Mahadev online betting app, has reportedly been arrested in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

Officials told news agency PTI that authorities in Dubai arrested the 46-year-old on the basis of an Interpol Red Notice issued against him at the request of Indian investigating agencies. 

According to the report, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the Enforcement Directorate are now working to extradite Uppal back to India.

This comes days after the extradition of fellow Mahadev app co-promoter Saurabh Chandrakar from Oman to India. A CBI team brought Chandrakar back after a court there permitted his extradition to India in connection with a money laundering case being investigated by the ED.

Subsequently, a special court in Raipur, earlier this week, granted eight custody of Chandrakar to the CBI.

Uppal’s arrest in the UAE marks a development in the ongoing ED probe into the betting platform. He was previously also detained in the UAE in 2023, but local investigating agencies reportedly subsequently found that he was in Australia.

Agencies have reportedly also claimed that Uppal obtained a passport from Vanuatu, an island nation in the South Pacific, just like Chandrakar.

The Mahadev Betting App Saga 

This comes nearly years after the Enforcement Directorate filed a chargesheet against Uppal in October 2023 in connection with the alleged Mahadev app betting scam. 

As per investigators, the platform operated from outside India through a network of franchised panels and branches, which enrolled users and facilitated illegal betting on cricket, football and other events.

A probe by CBI revealed that the betting proceeds were allegedly routed through mule bank accounts and transferred overseas through hawala channels. Part of the money was allegedly paid to public servants to allow the syndicate to operate without hindrance. 

ED estimates the proceeds of crime in the Mahadev betting app case at around ₹6,000 Cr. Its investigation has also examined alleged links to senior politicians and bureaucrats in Chhattisgarh.

In March, the directorate provisionally attached 20 properties with an estimated market value of nearly ₹1,700 Cr under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). These included 20 properties in Dubai and New Delhi, including villas and apartments.

The ED alleges that these properties were acquired using illegal betting proceeds and held through entities controlled by Chandrakar and his associates.

Overall, as of March, the ED has searched more than 175 locations, arrested 13 people, and attached or frozen assets worth around ₹4,336 Cr. 

The wider investigation has also examined alleged links involving EaseMyTrip cofounder Nishant Pitti and former Chhattisgarh chief minister Bhupesh Baghel. Both have denied wrongdoing.

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