The Directorate of Enforcement Raipur Zonal Office (ED-RPZO), has secured 10-day custodial remand of Vikas Garg, one of the principal accused in the Mahadev Online Book and Skyexchange illegal online betting money laundering investigation, after producing him before the Special Court (PMLA), Raipur. The court remanded Garg to ED custody till July 24, providing investigators additional time to interrogate him over the alleged laundering of proceeds generated through the illegal betting network. According to the ED, Garg was arrested in New Delhi on July 14 under Section 19 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002. He was initially produced before the Special Court (PMLA), New Delhi, which granted transit remand, following which he was brought to Raipur and produced before the Special Court (PMLA) on July 15, where the agency obtained his custodial remand.

 

The arrest follows the ED’s recent attachment of movable and immovable properties worth approximately Rs 940.77 crore belonging to Garg, his family members and entities allegedly owned or controlled by him. Investigators claim Garg continued making attempts to conceal and move proceeds of crime even during the course of the investigation. The ED alleges that the Mahadev Online Book and Skyexchange syndicate operated through a franchise-based ‘panel’ network managed from overseas and generated illegal proceeds exceeding Rs 450 crore every month. According to investigators, the illicit funds were routed through a multilayered structure comprising accommodation entries, shell companies and overseas investment channels before being integrated into legitimate financial assets.

 

The agency has further alleged that the proceeds of crime were channelled through foreign entities based in Dubai, Mauritius and the United Kingdom via QIP, FPI, FDI and FCCB routes into listed and unlisted companies allegedly owned and controlled by Garg to project tainted funds as untainted. The investigation also alleges that the proceeds were utilised, among other purposes, for the acquisition of 97.58 per cent shareholding in US-based EBIX Inc. through proceedings before the United States Bankruptcy Court, besides investments in shares, securities and other assets in India and abroad. The ED said that 7 Provisional Attachment Orders and multiple Prosecution Complaints, including supplementary complaints, have already been filed before the Special Court (PMLA), Raipur, which has taken cognisance of the offence of money laundering. With the latest attachment proceedings, the cumulative value of movable and immovable properties attached, seized or frozen in the Mahadev Online Book probe has reached approximately Rs 4,000 crore, including foreign assets, making it one of the country’s largest asset-tracing exercises under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act. Further investigation is in progress.