In a significant development in the Rs 6,000 crore Mahadev online betting investigation, the Enforcement Directorate has approached the special Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) court in Raipur seeking to declare two alleged operatives of the betting syndicate as Fugitive Economic Offenders (FEO) under the Fugitive Economic Offenders Act, 2018. The agency has filed an application before the court of the 6th Additional District Judge and Special Court (PMLA), Raipur, seeking the declaration of Shubham Soni and Anil Kumar Agrawal alias Atul Agrawal as FEOs and confiscation of their properties in India as well as abroad. According to the ED’s plea filed under Sections 4 and 12 of the Fugitive Economic Offenders Act, both accused have left India and are believed to be residing in the United Arab Emirates. The agency submitted that they have deliberately avoided the investigation despite repeated summons, arrest warrants and lookout circulars issued against them. The same special court is also examining a similar plea filed by the ED seeking declaration of alleged Mahadev Online Book promoters Saurabh Chandrakar and Ravi Uppal as fugitive economic offenders. Orders in that matter have already been reserved. Officials said that under the Fugitive Economic Offenders Act, a court declaration enables authorities to confiscate the properties of individuals who have fled India to evade criminal prosecution. Once declared an FEO, the court can order attachment and confiscation of properties held directly or through benami entities without waiting for completion of trial. The ED’s action stems from a Central Bureau of Investigation FIR registered in January 2025 consolidating multiple cases linked to the Mahadev Online Book platform.

 

The CBI case followed nearly 77 FIRs earlier registered by the Economic Offences Wing in Chhattisgarh and police authorities in Maharashtra, Delhi, Madhya Pradesh, West Bengal and Andhra Pradesh. Investigators have alleged that the Mahadev betting network operated multiple betting panels and franchises, used fake and mule bank accounts to park proceeds of crime and routed funds abroad through hawala channels. The illegal operations are suspected to have generated proceeds running into hundreds of crores of rupees. According to the ED, Shubham Soni was among the key promoters of the betting network and was involved in operational decisions related to the platform’s infrastructure and financial transactions. Anil Kumar Agrawal is alleged to have managed the technical operations of the betting ecosystem, including development of betting websites, supervision of platform interfaces and routing of funds through hawala networks. The agency has informed the court that immigration records show Soni left India for Dubai in February 2023, while Agrawal departed for the UAE in August 2022. Non-bailable warrants were issued against them in September 2024 after they failed to appear before investigators despite multiple summons. The ED has also alleged that betting proceeds were routed through hundreds of commission-based bank accounts, layered transactions and hawala operators before being invested in shell companies, real estate, stock market instruments and cryptocurrency. The agency has requested the special court to issue statutory notices directing both accused to appear before the court within the legally mandated period of at least six weeks. Officials said that failure to comply with the notice could lead to their declaration as Fugitive Economic Offenders (FEOs), enabling confiscation of identified assets and attachment of additional domestic and overseas properties linked to the alleged proceeds of crime.