A high-profile criminal case surrounding an illegal betting app in India has seen a number of key suspects arrested by police in the country and abroad in recent days. Known as the Mahadev Book betting app case, it is estimated to involve thousands of individuals and amounts upwards of $1 billion.
Two of the main suspects in the Mahadev case were nabbed over the Christmas period. Ravi Uppal, one of the co-founders of the enterprise, was arrested in Dubai and is being deported to India, according to officials. Together with Saurabh Chandrakar, he is accused of creating a betting app and network of operatives that is alleged to have been involved in everything from illegal gambling to money laundering and match fixing.
Closer to home in India, one of the key helpers for the duo was caught by authorities in Chhattisgarh. Deepak Nepali is said to be one of the main facilitators for the illegal gambling app. He was caught following a lengthy manhunt, during which he is said to have made use of political connections to evade arrest. He will now join Saurabh Chandrakar in jail, who was arrested earlier this year.
The Mahadev case has been called a rags to riches story gone wrong, with the two co-founders coming from humble beginnings before rising to become gambling kingpins. Saurabh Chandrakar and Ravi Uppal used to operate a juice shop and a tire store before traveling to Dubai and starting the now infamous Mahadev Book gambling app with the help of local contacts.
It offers sports betting and casino applications, and is said to involve thousands of on the ground agents as well as widespread use of fake IDs and money laundering using bank accounts and cryptocurrencies.
