Mahadev Online Book trail leads ED to Rs 941-crore asset attachment
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has stepped up its investigation into one of the largest online betting syndicates by asking the Adjudicating Authority to confirm the provisional attachment of assets worth Rs 940.77 crore linked to Delhi-based businessman Vikas Garg, his family, and related entities.
The ED says that Garg, who is closely linked to Harishankar Tibrewal — a key figure in the Mahadev Online Book network and operator connected to Skyexchange — received and moved illegal betting money through several channels, including Foreign Portfolio Investment (FPI), Foreign Direct Investment (FDI), corporate bonds, and benami or proxy structures to make the funds look legitimate.
Garg, who promotes listed companies such as Vikas Lifecare, Vikas Ecotech, and Eraaya Lifespaces and is linked to Ebix Inc, has been named an accused in the Mahadev betting scam. Eraaya Lifespaces bought Ebix Inc for about Rs 1,273 crore in 2024. This flow of money is said to have caused artificial price increases and given a false sense of strong market demand.
After prices rose, the holdings were reportedly sold, restructured, or used to finance deals, allegedly resulting in profits at the expense of retail investors. Around 23,000 investors in Eraaya Lifespaces were directly affected.
The ED has informed the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) of these suspected manipulations and has requested a detailed investigation into share-price irregularities involving Garg’s companies. SEBI is running its own investigations and has already taken regulatory action against Garg and his family, including orders for takeover code disclosure violations. The regulator is also looking into the Eraaya-Ebix deal for possible stock manipulation or other problems.
If the latest attachment, dated June 5, is confirmed by the Adjudicating Authority under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), it will become permanent and allow the ED to take further steps to take possession. The latest attachment covers movable assets, including equity shares and other securities, valued at Rs 893.03 crore, as well as immovable properties valued at Rs 47.73 crore.
The total value of properties attached, seized, or frozen in the Mahadev Online Book and Skyexchange money laundering case is now about Rs 3,800 crore. The largest part is 12.84 lakh shares of Eraaya Lifespaces Ltd, which make up a 64.20 per cent stake in the US-based Ebix Inc. Eraaya Lifespaces bought this stake for about Rs 765.77 crore. Other shareholdings add to the total value of movable assets.
The immovable assets include luxury apartments in Delhi, Garg’s home in Punjabi Bagh, commercial properties in the Safdarjung Development Scheme, a property on Babar Road, and an apartment on Shivaji Marg, including one held under Vikas Garg HUF. There are also properties in Goa, Uttarakhand (including Nainital), Rajasthan, and Dehradun.
Authorities allege that these assets are proceeds of crime or were bought with laundered money from illegal betting.
The current attachment of assets linked to Garg is one of the biggest single-entity actions in this investigation so far. The Adjudicating Authority will now review the ED’s complaint. If the attachment is confirmed, it would be a major step toward possible confiscation. The investigation is still ongoing as authorities continue to track the full path of betting proceeds and how they were allegedly used across companies and markets.
