Mahadev Betting App Co-Promoter Ravi Uppal Arrested In Dubai, India Seeks Extradition

Ravi Uppal, co-promoter of the Mahadev online betting app, has been arrested in the UAE, with Indian agencies initiating steps to secure his extradition in connection with a money laundering case. The 46-year-old was detained in Dubai following an Interpol Red Notice issued at the request of Indian probe agencies, officials told PTI on Wednesday. The development comes days after another promoter, Saurabh Chandrakar, was brought back to India from Oman on November 1. 

UAE Arrest

Officials said Uppal was arrested by Dubai authorities on the basis of the Interpol Red Notice. The CBI and ED are now working to extradite him to India.

Uppal had previously been detained by UAE authorities in 2023, but Indian agencies later found that he was in Australia. Probe agencies have also said that he obtained a passport from Vanuatu, a South Pacific island country, similar to Chandrakar.

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Chandrakar In CBI Custody

The arrest comes after the CBI brought Chandrakar back from Oman on November 1, following a court order permitting his extradition to India in a money laundering case being investigated by the ED.

A special court in Raipur on Wednesday granted the CBI eight days of custody of Chandrakar.

Both Uppal and Chandrakar hail from Bhilai in Chhattisgarh’s Durg district.

Rs 80,000 Crore Allegation

In its October 2023 chargesheet, the probe agency alleged that Uppal had generated and benefited from proceeds of crime, while also being involved in their concealment and layering.

The chargesheet further alleged that he was responsible for delivering liaison money to bureaucrats and politicians in Chhattisgarh through police assistant sub-inspector Chandrabhushan Verma and others.

According to the CBI, the Mahadev app, also known as Mahadev Online Book (MOB), began operations in 2019-20. Its user base reportedly grew sharply during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 and continued to expand.

The agency has alleged that the platform, which operated through thousands of panels, generated proceeds of crime worth around Rs 80,000 crore since 2019.

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