Sourabh Chandrakar, the individual behind the Mahadev Online Book betting app, made headlines when it was reported that he spent a staggering ₹200 crore on his wedding in Dubai earlier this year.
This extravagant event featured numerous Bollywood celebrities who attended and performed at the celebration. As a result, several well-known Bollywood stars, including Tiger Shroff, Sunny Leone, and singer Neha Kakkar, could potentially be summoned for questioning by the Enforcement Directorate (ED).
The ED is currently investigating a money laundering case involving ₹5,000 crore against Sourabh Chandrakar and his business partner Ravi Uppal, who operate the online gambling app from Dubai. Here are some key points regarding the Bollywood connection with the Mahadev gambling app:
Here's Everything We Know
Sourabh Chandrakar and Ravi Uppal, both hailing from Chhattisgarh, are wanted in the money laundering case.
ED sources reveal that Chandrakar hosted another lavish party in Dubai on September 18, 2022, where some Bollywood stars were allegedly paid ₹40 crore to attend at a seven-star luxury hotel.
At the February wedding, private jets were chartered to transport family members from Nagpur to Dubai. Bollywood celebrities, wedding planners, dancers, and decorators were all flown in from Mumbai.
The star-studded list of performers at the wedding included Neha Kakkar, Sunny Leone, Atif Aslam, Rahat Fateh Ali Khan, Ali Asgar, Vishal Dadlani, Elli AvrRam, Bharti Singh, Bhagyashree, Kriti Kharbanda, Nushrratt Bharuccha, Krushna Abhishek, and many others.
The investigation into Mahadev's online betting began in December of the previous year, but the Bollywood connection has only recently come to light.
The Mahadev Online Betting application is a gaming app where approximately a million individuals placed bets in the past year. The app operates from around 30 centres, but the promoters are currently based in Dubai, where betting is legal.
Some Bollywood personalities were featured in YouTube videos promoting the Mahadev Online Book app. The names of the Bollywood celebrities featured in the app's advertisements have not been officially disclosed by the ED. However, reports suggest that a leading comic, a character artist, a top B-rung male star, and a female comic star received payments from the platform.
Recently, the ED seized assets valued at ₹417 crore in connection with the case from Bhopal, Mumbai, and Kolkata. The betting site operated under various names in India to bypass the legal restrictions on betting.
Sourabh Chandrakar, believed to be in his early twenties, had previously worked as a juice vendor in Bhilai, Chhattisgarh. The investigation into the Mahadev Online Book betting app continues to reveal its high-profile Bollywood connections and financial irregularities, adding another layer to this ongoing case.
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