The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has arrested Girish Talreja and seized assets worth Rs 580 crore belonging to a Dubai-based operator in the Mahadev betting app case.

The seized assets comprise Rs 3.64 crore in cash along with valuable items. During the investigation, ED has uncovered alleged involvement of officials and leaders from Chhattisgarh. Girish Talreja, the chief operator of the Mahadev betting app, has been apprehended in Bhopal and is expected to be handed over to the ED in Raipur on Friday.

The investigation also revealed substantial transactions involving Talreja, Ratanlal Jain, and Shubham Soni, who is currently evading authorities. Two weeks ago, the ED arrested 25-year-old Neetish Diwan from Bhilai. Diwan, a resident of Vaishali Nagar, had been involved in operating the app’s panel with the promoters and had resided in Dubai for two years. His arrest led the investigators to Talreja.

On February 28, simultaneous raids were conducted by the ED in Raipur, Kolkata, Gurugram, Delhi, Indore, and Mumbai. Harishankar Tibrewal, a hawala operator, was identified in connection with the case. Tibrewal, currently residing in Dubai, was allegedly involved in operating an illegal betting app called Sky Exchange in collaboration with Mahadev app promoters. Assets worth Rs 580.78 crore belonging to Tibrewal have been seized under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).

It was discovered during the investigation that Tibrewal had been investing proceeds from illegal betting through his Dubai-based units into the Indian stock market via Foreign Portfolio Investments (FPIs). He had also appointed several associates as directors in the companies involved.

During the searches, the agency recovered Rs 1.86 crore in cash and items worth Rs 1.78 crore. Based on an FIR filed by the Chhattisgarh Police, ED initiated the investigation, which later expanded to include FIRs filed in Visakhapatnam and other states.

So far, ED has arrested nine suspects in this case. Initially, it was alleged that the illegal earnings from the Mahadev app were used to bribe politicians and officials in Chhattisgarh. ED has filed two charge sheets in this case, including allegations against the main promoters Saurabh Chandrakar and Ravi Uppal. According to the ED, the estimated illegal earnings in this case amount to around Rs 6,000 crore.

During the search conducted under the PMLA, 2002, a total of Rs 572.41 crore worth of movable and immovable assets were seized. Two final seizure orders have been issued, involving seizure of assets worth Rs 142.86 crore. The allegations were registered on October 20, 2023, and January 1, 2024.

On February 26, 13 individuals accused in the betting app case were asked to appear in court. Among them were app chief Saurabh Chandrakar, Ravi Uppal, Vishal Ahuja, Dheeraj Ahuja, Punaram Verma, Shivkumar Verma, Yashoda Verma, Pawan Natthani, Rohit Gulati, Anil Agrawal, Shubham Soni, and two others. However, they did not appear in court.