The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has filed a chargesheet against YouTuber Elvish Yadav and singer Fazilpuria for featuring protected species in their videos.
It is learnt that Fazilpuria, aka Rahul Yadav,
the creator and owner of the music video “32 Bore”, used protected wildlife species in violation of the law. He reportedly entered into a deal with MS Sky Digital India Pvt. Ltd. for digital distribution and monetization, receiving Rs 50 lakh in his account. Of this, Rs 36.2 lakh was transferred in various tranches, while Rs Rs14 lakh was spent on personal and smaller expenses.
The ED found that Fazilpuria generated, acquired, possessed, and used proceeds of crime (POC). The singer now faces money laundering charges under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
While Elvish Yadav, owner of the Elvish Yadav Vlogs YouTube channel, allegedly uploaded a video featuring protected wildlife and generated a revenue of Rs 84,000, which has been classified as POC and seized by the agency.
The ED has also attached properties derived from POC, including an agricultural land worth Rs 50 lakh belonging to Fazilpuria, a fixed deposit of Rs 1,24,067.52 with Sky Digital, fixed deposit of Rs 84,000 with ICICI Bank in Elvish Yadav’s name.
The agency concluded that the duo used protected wildlife for commercial gain and used the POC knowingly. Both are charged under Section 3 of PMLA and face punishment under Section 4.
The ED’s action highlights increasing scrutiny on digital content creators and entertainers misusing wildlife or other protected resources for financial gain.
Elvish Yadav’s Snake Venom Case
Elvish Yadav has been making headlines in connection to the Noida Snake Venom case for a long time now. The YouTuber was arrested by Noida Police in March 2024. The case was lodged under provisions of the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972 and for criminal conspiracy under section 120B of the Indian Penal Code, they said. A day after his arrest, NDTV claimed Elvish had admitted to his crimes. However, no official statement was released.
A week later, Yadav was granted bail, on a 50,000 bail bond. Talking about the same, his lawyer Prashant Rathi had said, “Our arguments in this case was that he was falsely accused and no substance was obtained from him or his friends that violated the NDPS act. The court has granted bail to him (Elvish Yadav) as well as his two friends on two sureties of Rs 50,000 each.”