ED summons Ranbir Kapoor in Mahadev betting app case

New Delhi: The Enforcement Directorate has summoned actor Ranbir Kapoor for questioning on Friday in connection with Mahadev betting application money laundering case of Chhattisgarh, officials said Wednesday.

They said the agency had alleged Kapoor allegedly received money from the promoters of the app for performing at the wedding of one of the promoters. The ED has asked Kapoor to appear at the Raipur office of the agency on October 6, they said. Around 14-15 other celebrities and actors are under the ED scanner in this case and they will also be summoned soon, sources said.

The company promoted by Sourabh Chandrakar and Ravi Uppal was running operations from Dubai. It was allegedly using the online book betting application to enrol new users, create IDs and launder money through a layered web of benami bank accounts, the agency has alleged. The ED investigation has shown that Mahadev Online Book App is run from a central head office in the UAE, officials said. It operates by franchising "Panel/Branches" to their known associates on 70-30 per cent profit ratio, it had said. Large scale hawala operations are done to siphon off the proceeds of betting to off-shore accounts, it had said. Large expenditure in cash is also being done in India for advertising of betting websites to attract new users and franchise (panel) seekers, it had said. The company promoters hail from Bhilai in Chhattisgarh and the Mahadev online book betting application is an umbrella syndicate arranging online platforms for enabling illegal betting websites.