From Petty thief to betting mogul: The transformation of Sourabh Chandrakar

The accused’s Vanuatu passport

The explosive 8,887-page charge sheet filed by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in connection with the Mahadev Book betting app case sheds light on the radical transformation of its alleged kingpin, Sourabh Chandrakar, who went from stealing money from his brother's juice shop for gambling purposes in 2016 to raking in an estimated Rs 450 crore a month and Rs 10 lakh on a weekly basis.

The ED emphasises that since his apps are in use globally, pinpointing the exact figures of his illicit earnings without scrutinising his personal balance sheet remains challenging. After conducting a detailed investigation, the ED discovered that Chandrakar's brother, Gitesh, managed a juice shop seven years ago.

A promo for the FairPlay betting app in which Chandrakar has a 50 per cent stake

Chandrakar, grappling with an online betting addiction, would steal money from the shop where he used to work. At the time, his old friend Ravi Uppal, currently a promoter of the Mahadev app, frequently visited the juice shop in Bilai, Chhattisgarh, and the two would engage in betting discussions. "Chandrakar made and lost substantial amounts by betting online, but he envisioned a future where he would create his own betting platform," an ED officer revealed.

Sourabh Chandrakar, the alleged online gambling kingpin

The ED took down a statement by Chandrakar's uncle, who asserted that the accused had gone to Dubai in 2019. The ED believed that since Chandrakar was aware of the legal restrictions in India, he opted to establish his own online betting platform abroad. Initially, he set up two panels of the Mahadev app in Dubai and then distributed the platform to his panel operators in Hyderabad, including his close friends Deepan Joseph and Yusuf Ahmed, both known to him for two decades. Each panel, as per the ED charge sheet, consisted of an owner and four employees overseeing the operations facilitated by Chandrakar and Uppal.

Functioning of app

Asked about the functioning of the Mahadev app, panel operator Joseph informed the ED, "The Mahadev betting app was created by Chandrakar and Uppal in 2019-20. This is an online betting app where individuals place bets through a panel operator on cricket, football, election results and more. I myself worked as a panel operator on this app."

The ED investigation also revealed that Chandrakar, initially starting with two panels, eventually expanded to 20. With the onset of the 2020 pandemic, his betting app gained widespread popularity in India, attracting a diverse user base. Operating on a 70:30 profit ratio, Chandrakar allocated 30 per cent of the profits to the operators, keeping 70 per cent for himself.

Officials discovered that the panel operators were earning between Rs 40 to 50 lakh per month. "The profits surpassed Chandrakar's expectations, leading him to establish hundreds of such panels, applying the 70:30 model to serve the punters," an officer said.

Operation expands

As per the charge sheet, Chandrakar expanded his operations by recruiting individuals from his home state, Chhattisgarh, many of whom travelled to Dubai to work with him. Currently, he employs over a thousand individuals in Dubai, operating through WhatsApp numbers and providing panels of various betting apps associated with the Mahadev app.

Lotus365 betting app ads featuring Neha Sharma, Kriti Kharbanda and Tamannaah Bhatia

The charge sheet indicates that within two to three years, Chandrakar began earning over Rs 100 crore annually. He then hired his own OSD (officer on special duty), multiple managers and a secretary to coordinate on his behalf. Sources indicate that in 2021, Chandrakar initiated outreach to the masses and customers through social media influencers, paying them lakhs to endorse his betting apps on their platforms, consequently increasing their popularity.

According to the charge sheet, the FairPlay betting app, previously owned by someone else, collaborated with Mahadev Book, with Chandrakar acquiring a 50 per cent stake in the former app. Notably, this collaboration has garnered endorsements from top celebrities such as Sanjay Dutt, Jacqueline Fernandes, Ranbir Kapoor, Varun Dhawan, Shraddha Kapoor and Kiara Advani as well as cricketers like A B De Villiers.

Vast empire

At present, the Mahadev app oversees around 60 top betting apps having servers in Switzerland and various other countries. The charge sheet suggests that over 3,000 panels of the Mahadev app are currently active, generating Rs 8-10 lakh per week, Rs 30-40 lakh per month per panel, and Rs 450 crores per month. "In view of the above, we can roughly calculate that the Mahadev Online Book (including Reddy Anna Book and Fairplay) would have monthly earnings of Rs 450 crore every month at the average rate of Rs 30 lakh earnings per panel per month," reads the charge sheet.

The ED further notes that Chandrakar now demands a Rs 15 lakh deposit for each panel. However, the ED believes that these figures are based on their ongoing investigation, which is limited to India, while the apps are operated from Dubai, making it challenging to ascertain the exact figures of the scam and Chandrakar's weekly and yearly profits. "The exact quantification of the panels and their profits will only be possible when the ED records the statements of the Mahadev Book's head office operatives and its promoters," states the charge sheet.

Ill-gotten wealth

As per the ED, in order to protect their illegal earnings, the two main promoters are buying assets in UAE, London, Sri Lanka and Australia, among other places. "The scale of his illegal earning from the betting website can be estimated from the fact that Sourabh Chandrakar had spent more than Rs 200 crore in cash on his wedding held in Ras Al-Khaimah, UAE, in February 2023," the charge sheet reads.

According to the ED, private jets were hired to ferry family members from Nagpur to the UAE. Celebrities were hired to perform in the marriage. Wedding planners, dancers and decorators were hired from Mumbai and hawala channels were used to make payments in cash and digital evidence totalling Rs 112 crore cash was also found by the ED.

"The promoters of Mahadev Book came from a humble background and it was after the gain in popularity of the app that they have acquired sudden riches which is openly being flaunted by them. To handle the large betting operations and the huge money involved, they have created a network of associates and individuals. These associates have explored different avenues to launder the proceeds of the crime acquired by the promoters," the charge sheet reads.

"The ticket expenses of Mahadev Group totalled around Rs 55 crore in the past year. Such was the scope of their earnings that self-aggrandisation became an obsession with the promoters to earn a name and fame in media and, thus, attract more customers," it reads.

2019
Year Chandrakar went to Dubai