A FRESH and potentially significant investigative layer has emerged in the Rs 6,000 crore Mahadev betting app moneylaundering case, with the Enforcement Directorate (ED) allegedly unearthing a forged and back-dated agreement connected with transfer of a 51 per cent interest in an EBIX subsidiary in the United Kingdom, highly placed sources in ED’s Raipur Zonal Office (ED-RPZO), privy to the investigation, have disclosed. The Rs 6,000 crore figure represents the projected proceeds of crime in the wider Mahadev case, according to ED.

 

The development assumes significance because the underlying corporate transaction has a documented public trail. Corporate disclosures by Vikas Lifecare Limited (VLL) state that the company, as part of an Eraaya Lifespaces Limited-led consortium, contributed Rs 297.727 crore, equivalent to US$34.83 million, towards acquisition of US-based Ebix Inc. The disclosures refer to an addendum agreement dated August 16, 2024, under which VLL could receive 51 per cent equity in Ebix International Holdings Limited (EIHL) in the event of non-repayment by Eraaya. They further record that after non-repayment by January 31, 2025, arbitration was invoked and proceedings culminated in a settlement, following which the 51 per cent interest in EIHL was transferred to VLL. What now adds a fresh dimension to the money-laundering investigation is ED’s alleged finding concerning the authenticity and timing of an agreement connected with the transaction.

 

Highly placed EDRPZO sources, requesting anonymity because the investigation remains underway, exclusively told The Hitavada that the investigators have unearthed what they allege to be a forged and back-dated agreement connected with transfer of the 51 per cent interest in the EBIX UK subsidiary to another Vikas Garg-linked entity. The allegation forms part of the agency’s continuing investigation and has not been adjudicated by a court. Significantly, publicly available corporate disclosures acknowledge the addendum and subsequent settlementbased transfer, but do not establish ED’s allegation concerning forgery or back-dating.

 

The latter, therefore, remains an investigative claim. The disclosure adds another dimension to ED’s widening examination of businessman Vikas Garg and entities linked to him in the MahadevSkyexchange money trail. Garg was arrested by ED in July in connection with its money-laundering investigation into the Rs 6,000 crore Mahadev betting racket. ED had earlier provisionally attached assets valued at approximately Rs 940.77 crore belonging to Garg, his family members and entities allegedly owned or controlled by them. The attached assets included residential properties, land parcels, equity shares and other securities. The agency has alleged that proceeds generated through illegal betting and routed through Garg-controlled entities were layered through financial transactions before being deployed into shares, securities and other assets. Garg was arrested under Section 19 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002, on July 14 and subsequently remanded in the money-laundering case. The fresh disclosure emerges from investigative material surrounding ED-RPZO’s latest supplementary prosecution complaint before the Special PMLA Court in Raipur.

 

The complaint encompasses Garg-linked companies, panel operators, promoters and alleged facilitators in the wider betting and laundering network. The broader investigation concerns Mahadev Online Book and associated betting platforms, including Skyexchange. ED has described Mahadev as an umbrella syndicate facilitating illegal betting through online platforms and allegedly laundering proceeds through a layered network of bank accounts. The agency has publicly maintained that the projected proceeds of crime in the Mahadev investigation stand at approximately Rs 6,000 crore. According to highly placed sources, scrutiny of corporate structures, agreements and movement of funds surrounding the EBIX transactions is continuing as investigators seek to establish the origin, layering, beneficiaries and ultimate deployment of the alleged proceeds of crime.