The absconding bookie Saurabh Chandrakar, who ran the betting app Mahadev Online Book, invested heavily in nightclubs and bars in Dubai and London to launder betting and match fixing profits fronted by Mumbai-based event management company Team Innovation LLP.
Team Innovation, along with its promoter Siddhesh Kudtarkar and his fiancée Snehal Shirke, is named in Mumbai Police’s first information report for providing India-New Zealand semi-final tickets to arrested duo Akash Kothari and Roshan Gurubakshani to sell in the black market.
Police Raid on Team Innovation's Office
The police raided Team Innovation’s office at Crystal Plaza, Shastri Nagar, Andheri, late Friday night and seized digital devices for evidence and summoned Shirke for questioning. Kudtarkar is allegedly in Milan, Italy.
The Directorate of Enforcement (ED) is investigating the notorious Mahadev app, which enabled gambling and betting on cricket, football, tennis, poker and ‘teen patti’. It was run by Dubai-based Chandrakar, a former juice seller, and his accomplice Ravi Uppal, both from Chhattisgarh.
International Bookie's Investments in Nightlife Ventures
Documents accessed exclusively by The Free Press Journal reveal international bookie Chandrakar invested profits from match fixing and cricket betting into ‘Proud Late’ nightclub along the Victoria Embankment in London and Mantis Dubai, managed by Team Innovation.
The police have also registered a separate FIR in the Mahadev Book app case and named 32 prominent bookies in India for accepting bets on cricket matches.
Cricket fans were deprived of watching the India-New Zealand semifinal at Wankhede with tickets diverted by online ticketing booking platform for windfall profits, charging up to Rs100,000 for Rs2,500 ticket.
Chandrakar's Involvement in Team Innovation
Chandrakar laundered betting and match fixing profits and invested in Team Innovation, run by Mohit Bijlani and Kudtarkar.
While Kudtarkar is in Milan, Italy, for his bachelor party, Shirke has been summoned for questioning by JJ Marg Police. Both did not respond to messages and calls for comments.
