In the 1800-page supplementary prosecution complaint (PC), equivalent to a chargesheet, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) has named Bollywood singers and a comedian who have performed at a personal event of the absconding Mahadev app promoters.
According to the chargesheet, comedian Ali Asghar and music composer and singer duo Sachin-Jigar performed at the birthday party of the Mahadev app promoters held at Hotel Versace, Dubai, in June 2023.
The organiser of the party revealed that absconding accused Anil Agrawal, also known as Atul Agrawal and a close associate of Saurabh Chandrakar, had contacted them for the design planning and execution of the party, for which the organisers received ₹4-4.5 crore. The organisers arranged for Asghar and Sachin-Jigar to perform in the party.
According to the sources, during the investigation, the ED considered the comedian and the singers as witnesses, similar to other celebrities in the case who were summoned earlier.
The Free Press Journal team attempted to contact Asghar and Sachin-Jigar several times, but did not get a response till the publication of the report.
Bollywood and television celebrities under scanner
The federal anti-money laundering agency had previously summoned a multitude of prominent Bollywood and television industry celebrities, including Ranbir Kapoor, Shraddha Kapoor, Huma Qureshi, Heena Khan, comedian Kapil Sharma and Sunil Grover. They were implicated in the alleged promotion, endorsement, appearances and performances for the illicit Mahadev betting app and various subsidiaries associated with the promoters. Several Bollywood celebrities were found performing in the Mahadev app betting kingpin Saurabh Chandrakar's marriage, and they are currently under ED scrutiny.
The investigation revealed Agrawal's role in a syndicate aiming to utilise betting proceeds in the stock market and purchase assets in India and Dubai on behalf of kingpin Chandrakar and Ravi Uppal.
Money laundering trail exposed
During the investigation, ED found that Agrawal holds 49% shares in the Dubai-based entity, M/s Exim General Trading FZCO, while the remaining 51% shares were held by Vikas Chhaparia, another close associate of Chandrakar. This company was found to be heavily investing in the Indian stock market under the Foreign Portfolio Investment (FPI) route, and these investments have already been frozen by the ED.
ED also discovered that Agrawal utilised the betting money proceeds to purchase assets in India and Dubai. Further investigation revealed that his brother, Amit Agrawal, was acquiring properties worth crores in India by arranging bank entries against cash. It was found that Amit Agrawal purchased a plot worth ₹1.1 crore in 2021. Additionally, his wife, Priti Agrawal, acquired a plot worth ₹1.75 crore in May 2022. The investigation revealed that both of these purchases were made on the instruction of Anil Agarwal. The funds used for these purchases were traced back to betting money, which was sent through several routes to convert the betting funds into assets.
