Mumbai crime: Mahadev app owners have Vanuatu passports, says ED

Saurabh Chandrakar, the primary suspect in the Mahadev app betting case

The creators and promoters of the Mahadev app, Saurabh Chandrakar and Ravi Uppal, accused of facilitating illegal betting, have obtained citizenship in Vanuatu - an Oceania country, per a chargesheet filed by the Enforcement Directorate (ED). Various Indian agencies have initiated a manhunt for the duo, who have allegedly been using their Vanuatu passports to evade law enforcement during their travels abroad.

"During the course of the investigation, it was gathered that Saurabh Chandrakar and Ravi Uppal have obtained passports of the country Vanuatu [in Oceania] and they have been roaming freely using these passports," the 8,887-page chargesheet reads.

It has been filed against 14 accused, including the duo before the Special Court for PMLA Cases, Raipur, claiming that the proceeds of the crime are suspected to be around Rs 6000 crore. Two thousand panels run illegal betting in India through the Mahadev app, the chargesheet says, with each panel garnering Rs 30-40 per month.

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The app itself earned Rs 450 crore per month. It further notes that Chandrakar and Uppal have applied for Australian visas, without having renounced their Indian citizenship. "Thus, they have been evading the investigation under PMLA, 2002. They have already explored ways to roam undetected and do not intend to join the current investigation," the chargesheet says.