The Enforcement Directorate investigation into the multi-crore Mahadev app case has now extended to Burj Khalifa. Properties worth Rs 1,700 crore have been attached, including apartments in Dubai Hills
Estate-Hills View, Fairway Residency and Sidra-along with high-end units in Business Bay and SLS Hotel & Residences, and a flat in the Burj Khalifa, The Print reported quoting an ED officer.
Properties linked to key promoter
Officials said the properties belong to Sourabh Chandrakar, one of the main promoters of the Mahadev Online Book betting platform.
“The properties were acquired from the proceeds of crime generated by commission of scheduled offences related to illegal online betting operations,” the officer said.
They were held through entities controlled by him and his associates, including Vikas Chhaparia, Rohit Gulati, Atul Arora, Nitin Tibrewal and Surendra Bagri.
What we know about the Mahadev Betting App case?
The case relates to an alleged illegal betting platform involving thousands of crores routed through bank accounts opened using fake identities, an intricate web of shell companies, overseas call centres and a hawala network.
The Mahadev Online Book app allegedly enabled betting on live games such as poker, card games and chance-based games, as well as virtual sports like cricket, badminton, tennis and football. Users could also play teen patti, poker and Dragon Tiger, and place bets on elections in India.
Originally from Bhilai, Chandrakar and his associates are accused of building a large user base and illegally earning over Rs 5,000 crore, which was sent abroad through hawala channels and used to pay kickbacks.
How the operation worked?
The ED began its probe based on FIRs registered by police in Chhattisgarh, Andhra Pradesh and West Bengal against those linked to illegal betting platforms, including Mahadev Online Book and Skyexchange.
Investigators said the operation functioned through a franchise-based system of “panels” or “branches” run by associates across India, while the main promoters, Chandrakar and Ravi Uppal, controlled the network from Dubai.
Arrests and search operations
Uppal was arrested by Dubai Police in December 2023 on an ED request, and extradition proceedings were initiated. However, he later fled. He is suspected to be in Vanuatu, where he is believed to have taken citizenship.
In November 2025, the Supreme Court of India directed the ED to trace him, noting that “kingpins” treat courts and agencies as “mere instruments”.
The ED said promoters retained 70-75 per cent of profits, with the rest shared among panel operators. Funds were routed through thousands of mule accounts using unsuspecting individuals’ KYC details, then moved abroad via hawala, cryptocurrency and layered financial transactions before being invested in assets in the UAE and India.
So far, the agency has searched over 175 premises across India. A total of 13 people have been arrested, and 74 others named as accused in five prosecution complaints filed before a Raipur court.
“As on date, total attachment, seizure, freezing of movable and immovable properties stands approximately at Rs 4,336 crore,” the officer said.
