Mahadev betting app owner Ravi Uppal detained, action taken in UAE

Ravi Uppal, the co-founder of the Mahadev online betting app, has been detained in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Indian agencies are in touch with UAE officials. The Government of India has taken strict action against many illegal betting apps and websites including Mahadev's online betting app. It was banned considering it to be an illegal and illegal app.

Apart from Chhattisgarh Police and Mumbai Police, Uppal is being investigated by the ED in a money laundering case related to alleged illegal betting. The federal probe agency had in October filed a money laundering chargesheet against Uppal and another promoter of the internet-based platform, Saurabh Chandrakar, before a special court under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) in Raipur, Chhattisgarh. A red notice was later issued by Interpol based on the ED's request.

The agency had informed the court in the charge sheet that Uppal had taken a passport of Vanuatu, an island country in the Pacific Ocean, even though he had not renounced his Indian citizenship. According to the ED, the estimated proceeds of crime in this case are around Rs 6,000 crore.

Regarding Ravi Uppal, officials said that ED's investigation has revealed that the Mahadev Online Book App is run from a central head office in UAE. It said it operated by giving franchises of "panels/branches" to its known associates at a 70-30 per cent profit ratio. The investigation said that a large-scale hawala operation is conducted to send betting income to foreign accounts.