How did the alleged money laundering operations of the Mahadev booking app continue undetected for four years while the app itself was being promoted online by Bollywood A-listers and celebrities? The short answer is use of ‘only WhatsApp’ phone numbers. For the long answer, one needs to understand the complex modus operandi of the scam.
The case that started with a lavish Rs 250-crore wedding in Dubai has turned into a scandal with several Bollywood actors and celebrities receiving summons from the ED in the money laundering probe. The latest to be summoned are comedian Kapil Sharma and actors Huma Qureshi and Hina Khan. The most high-profile actor to be summoned for questioning is Ranbir Kapoor.
Sources in the ED told News18 that nearly 15 actors and celebrities are under the scanner for either attending the decadent wedding of Mahadev app promoter Saurabh Chandrakar in Dubai this February or for discreetly promoting the betting app and products linked to it.
GIST OF THE Rs 5,000-CRORE SCAM
The Mahadev app was allegedly using the online book betting application to enrol new users, create IDs and launder money through a layered web of benami bank accounts.
As per documents accessed by News18, the ED investigation has shown that the Mahadev Online Book App is run from a central head office in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and operated by franchising “panel/branches” to their known associates on an 80-20 profit ratio. These branches ran call centres and employed a large number of young people, who were also allegedly used for the KYC of shell accounts.
FLYING UNDER THE RADAR
The Mahadev betting app had different games, lotteries and betting options for everything under the sun, including the prediction of election results, weather, matches etc. The online app, like other Ponzi schemes, targeted the lower income group.
According to the ED, the app invited ‘players’ to play poker and card games, games that depend on probability and chance, and invited bids on sports like cricket, badminton, tennis etc. The games were allegedly designed in a way to only benefit the franchises or to hook players with initial gains that soon gave way to massive losses.
It added that the IDs were created on multiple websites, including laser247.com, laserbook247.com, betbhai.com, betbook247.com, tigerexch247.com, cricketbet9.com. “All the games are rigged in a manner that overall the panel (franchise) owners will not lose money and despite initial profits to the user, ultimately, they are likely to lose money,” it said.
Those involved in the scam allegedly operated several websites and a number of closed groups on chatting apps. They would allegedly advertise a contact number over websites and lure ‘players’ to play for profits. Such numbers could only be contacted via WhatsApp.
According to sources, the use of WhatsApp for communication meant the agencies could not track call details or messages unless they specifically sought permission, which would have been a long process.
“Mahadev Book maintains various websites and operates a number of closed groups on chat apps. They provide a contact number over the website. This number can only be contacted over WhatsApp. Once a user contacts this number, he will be provided two separate contact numbers. One contact number is to be contacted for depositing money and collecting points in IDs used to make bets. The second number is for contacting the website to encash the accumulated points in the designated IDs,” a document accessed by News18 said.
DIVERSIONARY TACTICS
The scammers also allegedly fraudulently opened and loaned bank accounts for commission, mainly in Chhattisgarh. These bank accounts and WhatsApp numbers were changed frequently, making detection even harder.
In case an FIR was registered at some police station by the victims of the app’s fraud, only low-level punters or branch operators would be arrested. The main accused, sitting in Dubai, would be out of the reach of Indian law enforcement agencies.
WHO DID THE LEG-WORK
Sitting abroad, the promoters of the app operated by franchising “panel/branches” to their known associates in India. These branches ran call centres and employed a large number of young people, who were also allegedly used for the KYC of shell accounts.
In the early stage of the operations, youth from Bhilai were reportedly sent to Dubai in large numbers to be trained on running back-end operations. They were later sent back to India and opened their own panels/branches.
DID COPS NOT NOTICE?
Among the first people to be arrested in the scam was Assistant Sub-Inspector Chandrabhushan Verma, who allegedly handled the final delivery to politicians and officials. The ED has allegedly recovered Rs 65 crore from his residence.
The ED has also alleged that ASI Chandrabhushan Verma, who has also allegedly confessed to his role, helped Ravi Uppal get access to the Chhattisgarh chief minister’s office via Vinod Verma, the political advisor to the CM.
“(Chandrabhushan) Verma is not a very senior officer in the police hierarchy, but through his political connections and with the help of money power received from kickbacks sent by Ravi Uppal in Dubai, he managed to influence senior officers. ASI Verma has admitted before ED that he was receiving and paying large monthly bribes to many people,” said an ED document accessed News18.
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