Mahadev betting app promoter brought back from Oman, months after arrest in ₹6,000 crore money laundering case

Sourabh Chandrakar, alleged mastermind of the ₹6,000-crore Mahadev online betting syndicate, has been brought from Oman to India. The Central Bureau of Investigation says a specially deputed team escorted him from Muscat. His return matters because investigators are examining the syndicate’s alleged illegal profits, overseas operations and payments to public servants.

Chandrakar was located and detained by Royal Omani police in late June after an Interpol Red Notice. CBI and the Enforcement Directorate sent Oman formal extradition proposals with evidence. Once extradition was granted, the CBI team travelled to Muscat and brought him back. He and Ravi Uppal had reportedly built the network after setting it up in 2018.

Chandrakar will now be produced before the CBI Special Court in Raipur. Investigators may question him about betting platforms, money transfers and alleged protection payments. The case also involves scrutiny of public servants, police officers and politicians, including former Chhattisgarh chief minister Bhupesh Baghel, who denies the allegations.

Extradition is a legal process in which one country hands a person over to another country for investigation or prosecution. It matters here because Chandrakar was outside India, while Indian agencies wanted him to face the Mahadev case. His return required Oman to consider and approve India’s formal request.

After Chandrakar was detained in Muscat, the CBI and Enforcement Directorate sent formal extradition proposals to Oman. They included evidence gathered against him. The request was pursued with Indian government agencies, Interpol’s National Central Bureau and Oman’s competent authorities. After extradition was granted, a CBI team travelled to Muscat and escorted him to India.

The cooperation ended a lengthy effort to bring Chandrakar back. An earlier UAE request, sent after his detention there in October 2024, was not executed and became infructuous. The CBI thanked Oman and the Royal Oman Police for helping address alleged transnational organised crime.

An Interpol Red Notice is an international police alert used to seek the location and provisional detention of a wanted person. It is not, by itself, an international arrest warrant. In this case, the notice helped circulate Chandrakar’s identity across countries while Indian agencies pursued his return.

Authorities in the UAE briefly detained Chandrakar in October 2024 and placed him under house arrest after the notice. India sent an extradition request that month, but the request was not executed. Later, the same Red Notice helped authorities locate him in Muscat. Royal Omani police detained him in late June.

The notice did not complete the extradition process. CBI and ED still had to submit evidence and formal proposals to Oman. After Omani authorities granted extradition, a CBI team travelled to Muscat and escorted Chandrakar to India. He is now due before the CBI Special Court in Raipur.

The article presents Mahadev as a large international online betting network. The Enforcement Directorate estimates alleged proceeds of crime at around ₹6,000 crore. Investigators say the operation reached millions of users in India and used several websites, applications and domain names. These figures show both the alleged financial scale and broad reach of the syndicate.

The network reportedly included Tiger Exchange, Gold365 and Laser247. It used franchise-based betting panels and branches across India. Local associates enrolled users and managed betting operations. Investigators allege that illegal profits moved through multiple mule bank accounts before being transferred abroad, while some proceeds were paid to public servants as protection money.

The supplied article does not state ₹94,400 crore. Therefore, it gives no factual basis for explaining that number or reconciling it with ₹6,000 crore. The ₹6,000-crore figure is specifically identified as the ED’s estimate of alleged proceeds of crime. Any separate ₹94,400-crore claim would require another source.

According to investigators, Mahadev Online Book operated as a franchise-based network rather than one single betting outlet. Betting panels and branches were spread across India. The network allegedly offered cricket and other sports betting, poker, card games and other online games. This structure mattered because local associates could recruit users and run operations across many locations.

The syndicate allegedly used multiple websites, applications and domain names, including Tiger Exchange, Gold365 and Laser247. Local associates managed panels and enrolled users. Investigators say the resulting illegal profits were routed through multiple mule bank accounts. The money was then transferred abroad, making the financial trail more complex.

Investigators also allege that part of the proceeds was paid to public servants as protection money. The ED estimates alleged proceeds of crime at around ₹6,000 crore. Chandrakar’s return could help agencies examine how the panels, accounts, overseas transfers and alleged payments were organised.

Money laundering is the process of hiding or disguising the source of money obtained through illegal activity. It matters in this case because investigators allege that betting profits did not remain in one obvious account. Instead, the money was allegedly moved through a network designed to make its origin and eventual destination harder to follow.

The article describes multiple mule bank accounts as part of the alleged mechanism. Profits from betting panels and websites were routed through those accounts before being transferred abroad. Such movement can create several separate transactions and account holders between the original betting activity and the final recipients. Investigators also allege that some proceeds became protection payments to public servants.

The ED estimates alleged proceeds of crime at around ₹6,000 crore. Chandrakar’s return gives Indian agencies an opportunity to question him about the network and its finances. The article does not state that any court has finally established these allegations, so the claims remain part of the investigation.

Chandrakar’s return places him within India’s court and investigation process. The CBI will produce him before the Special Court in Raipur. The court could consider the next legal steps, while investigators question him about the alleged betting network, its finances and the people involved. His extradition therefore may provide access to a central accused in the case.

Investigators allege that profits moved through mule accounts and abroad. They also allege that part of the proceeds was paid to public servants as protection money. The CBI says several public servants, police officers and politicians are under scrutiny. The ED has claimed ₹508 crore in alleged bribes to Bhupesh Baghel, who has repeatedly denied the allegations.

The article does not report asset seizures resulting from Chandrakar’s return, so their occurrence cannot be confirmed. Further investigation could examine financial records, alleged payments and the wider network. Court proceedings and any future enforcement action will depend on evidence and judicial decisions.