Mahadev Betting App Scam: Saurabh Chandrakar, Others Laundered ₹423 Cr In Stock Markets, Claims ED

An Enforcement Directorate (ED) investigation has claimed to reveal that Saurabh Chandrakar, one of the promoters of the Mahadev betting app, had invested heavily in the betting website Skyexchange. Chandrakar’s allegedly close associate and partner in the venture, Hari Shankar Tibrewal, is currently absconding.

Tibrewal, recently identified as a key player in Mahadev app, allegedly operated Skyexchange, and is accused of investing substantial funds earned from the betting site in the stock market through eight Indian companies. These dummy companies, under the directorship of Tibrewal’s associate and Indian partner Suraj Chokhani, allegedly diverted ₹423 crore (as of February 29) to stock portfolios.

The dummy companies involved in investing the Skyexchange money in the stock market include: Ability Games, whose stock portfolio is worth Rs74.64 crore; Brillinant Investment Consultants (Rs45.8 crore) and Discovery Buildcon (Rs31.55 crore).

The ED suspects that most of the investments were in small and mid-cap stocks.

Further investigations claim to reveal that Tibrewal was involved in manipulating the stock market. Using his substantial capital, Tibrewal created temporary fluctuations in share prices, driving them upwards, and then withdrew funds once the prices reached a desirable level.

The probe also found evidence of cash earned from the betting business being injected into these companies, either directly or indirectly, to be invested in the stock market. An Excel sheet recovered during the ED search detailed how these companies converted the betting funds to bank entries using the services of professional entry operators. This was done to obtain bank balance in bank accounts, with transactions in the name of unlisted equity being undertaken with professional entry operators.

The entire operation orchestrated by Tibrewal was reportedly run by his close associate and arrested accused, Chokhani. Chokhani, appointed as a director in multiple companies under Tibrewal's direction, played a pivotal role in laundering the betting money.

Currently the ED has identified and frozen Indian companies under the control of Tibrewal and his associates, holding securities worth Rs580 crore. Foreign entities also invested in India via the FPI route and were found to be holding securities worth Rs606 crore.