The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Tuesday arrested businessman Vikas Garg as part of its money laundering investigations into the alleged illegal online betting activities of the Mahadev Online Book (MOB) platform.
The CEO recently attached assets worth approx $940.77 crore have been linked to Garg, alleging that the properties were purchased using money laundered through illegal betting operations of MOB and Skyexchange platforms. Garg will be produced in court for remand, ED officials said, confirming the arrest.
Emergency management officials said the seized assets belong to Garg, his family members and entities he owns or controls. Real estate includes residential units, plots of land, stocks, and other securities.
According to the agency, the proceeds of crime from the alleged betting rings were laundered through a multi-layered network of shell entities, residence entries and financial transactions layered to disguise the funds as legitimate. Investigators claimed so $Rs 940.77 crore was routed through entities linked to Garg before it was used to acquire shares, securities and other assets.
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The ED launched its investigations in 2022 based on FIRs registered by police in Chhattisgarh, Andhra Pradesh and West Bengal against operators, promoters and partners of betting platforms for offenses including criminal conspiracy, cheating and forgery.
The agency alleges that MOB is one of the largest illegal betting groups discovered in the country that operates from abroad, including Dubai, through a franchise-based network and has generated more than $450 crore every month from alleged illegal betting.
So far, the CEO has issued seven interim detention orders and filed several prosecution complaints against several accused, including wanted promoters Saurabh Chandrakar and Ravi Uppal. Chandrakar was arrested in Oman last month and is awaiting extradition to India.
