The probe into the Mahadev App case has brought the spotlight on several celebrities who were issued summons by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) to appear before the agency to understand transactions made to them for promoting the app.
Ranbir Kapoor, Shraddha Kapoor, Huma Qureshi, and Hina Khan were summoned to promote the app, with agencies wanting to understand their role and the amount they received as fees which, according to ED, were proceeds of crime. On the other hand, comic-turned-actor Kapil Sharma was summoned because he had participated in an event organised by Saurabh Chandrakar, the app’s founder.
The ED chargesheet now also mentions details of the response received from Sharma. “Response from Kapil Sharma who had participated in events organised by Mahadev Book apps founder Saurabh Chandrakar revealed that his event management company was approached by Mr. Abhijit Choudhary to perform at the event and payment was made to him by M/s Muskan Events,” states the chargesheet.
Choudhary is engaged in the business of live events and artist coordination and is among the 103 people whose statement was recorded by the ED. In his statement, he said the celebrities were approached in the name of M/s Muskan Events Management, Dubai, to perform at the event of Mahadev Book.’ ED had questioned him regarding celebrities and management of Chandrakar’s wedding and his birthday bash.
None of the actors and celebrities adhered to the summons by ED and sought more time.
According to the chargesheet, the scam is valued at approximately Rs 6,000 crore and was orchestrated by Saurabh Chandrakar and Ravi Uppal through their panel operators.
How was money collected from panel operators?
Managers were hired by the Mahadev app headquarters in UAE to collect payments from panel operators and forward the same to promoters of the Mahadev Online Book. These managers earned a commission of 2.5 per cent for collecting such payments and forwarding the same to the headquarters-directed bank accounts.
The ED investigation has revealed that money arising out of bank accounts of parties who would work with the Mahadev app was routed through illegally obtained bank accounts via multiple layers before it was finally remitted outside India.
Thousands of ‘benami’ bank accounts are involved in the fraud and are being analysed by ED.
What was the role of the headquarters?
The headquarters, which was based out of UAE, would provide OTPs to the panels for operating WhatsApp and Telegram and kept the SIM card with them. If a panel operator was caught, the headquarters staff would log out from WhatsApp, preventing data recovery from the operator’s mobile phone, thereby successfully evading the law.
Without a SIM card, it becomes nearly impossible for agencies to retrieve data from WhatsApp or Telegram.
The chargesheet also mentions that the panel operators were members of a private WhatsApp group known as ‘HQ Account’. Within this group, panel operators exchanged Hawala note numbers and details concerning Hawala operators.
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