ED arrests Ebix Chairman Vikas Garg in Rs 6,000 crore Mahadev betting probe
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) arrested Vikas Garg (53), chairman of the Ebix Group, on Tuesday in connection with a money-laundering case tied to the Mahadev online betting syndicate. Officials said Garg was taken into custody under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) after ED teams searched his Delhi home. He was brought before a special court in the capital, which gave the agency 24 hours to take him to Raipur, Chhattisgarh, where the main investigation is underway.
This is the 14th arrest in the case. Last week, the ED temporarily seized assets worth Rs 940.77 crore belonging to Garg, his family, and related entities. This action is part of the investigation into illegal online betting by Mahadev Online Book and Skyexchange.
The agency says that money from the betting syndicate was moved through companies owned and controlled by Garg, using a complex hawala network for cash transfers. The funds were allegedly laundered through platforms and websites like Tiger Exchange and Gold365, as well as through shell companies and multiple transactions.
The Mahadev betting app case involves suspected illegal earnings of Rs 6,000 crore and has been connected to several top politicians and officials from Chhattisgarh. The ED describes the Mahadev app as a major international betting syndicate that enabled illegal betting via online platforms and websites such as Tiger Exchange, Gold365, and Laser247.
The operation used a franchise network of ‘panels’ and ‘branches’ run by associates across India. According to the ED, the main promoters, Sourabh Chandrakar and Ravi Uppal, managed the betting syndicate from Dubai. So far, five charge sheets have been filed in a special PMLA court in Raipur, naming 74 accused entities.
The agency has also asked the court to declare Chandrakar, Uppal, and others, including Anil Agrawal (also known as Atul) and Shubham Soni, as fugitive economic offenders under the Fugitive Economic Offenders Act, 2018. Garg’s arrest, as a well-known business leader, is a major step in the investigation. It shows how the syndicate is accused of using complex methods to make betting money look legitimate. Investigators are expected to question Garg in Raipur about the movement of funds and his suspected role in the laundering.
The case continues to reveal links between illegal online betting operations run from outside India and local networks that move and hide the money. With Chandrakar recently detained in Oman and extradition in progress, the ED is focused on breaking up the syndicate’s finances and recovering the illegal earnings. More arrests and asset seizures are expected as the investigation goes on.
