The Enforcement Directorate has summoned Bollywood actor Ranbir Kapoor in the infamous Mahadev online betting app case. He has been summoned on October 6. He was endorsing the online betting app, and thus, he has received the summons.
According to ED sources, they will record Ranbir's statement as a witness. Ranbir is allegedly involved in promoting and endorsing the Mahadev betting app on various social media platforms.
During the investigation, the agency found that Ranbir Kapoor promoted a subsidiary app, which is also promoted by Mahadev Book app promoters, allegedly the actor received cash for the promotion, sources said. The agency found that Ranbir Kapoor has been a social media influencer for the online betting platform.
ED officials aim to determine when he began promoting the app, the amount of money he received for these promotions, and the method of payment (whether by check or in cash). They also aim to seek information about individuals with whom he came into contact for promotional purposes and wish to confirm if any contracts were signed.
Celebrity managers' premises raided
The Mahadev Book app is an online betting platform which is being investigated by the ED and the police due to its illegal money laundering activities.
The company promoted by Sourabh Chandrakar and Ravi Uppal, was allegedly being run from Dubai, and laundered money through layered benami accounts. The entire scam came to light when back in February 2023, Chandrakar got married in a lavish ceremony wherein he spent Rs 200 crore in cash.
A few days ago, the ED had raided the offices of several celebrity managers in Mumbai and Delhi in the same case, and had seized cash worth Rs 2.50 crore.
Chandrakar's wedding was attended by the some of the biggest names of Bollywood, including Tiger Shroff, Sunny Leone, Neha Kakkar, Vishal Dadlani, Elli AvrRam, Bharti Singh, Bhagyashree, Kriti Kharbanda, Nushrratt Bharuccha, Atif Aslam, Rahat Fateh Ali Khan, Ali Asgar, Krushna Abhishek and Sukhwinder Singh. These celebs also endorsed the betting apps.
As per ED, Rs 112 crore was paid to an event management company for the wedding via hawala, and around Rs 42 crore in cash was poured in for bookings at swanky hotels.
The listed celebs are expected to receive summons from the ED too.
Chandrakar's links to D-Gang
As per reports, officials have also unearthed Chandrakar's association to the D-Company. Reportedly, he also flaunted his connection to Dawood Ibrahim when jailed gangster Lawrence Bishnoi called him for extortion.
Cops also suspect that Chandrakar is under the "protection" of D-Company. He is now absconding and a manhunt has been launched for him.
So far, four people have been arrested in the Mahadev online betting case. The ED has also seized assets worth Rs 417 crore.
Besides Ranbir, more than a dozen Bollywood and Tollywood celebrities, as well as a few cricketers, and more then 100 social media influencers have been promoting this app.
