Extradition Executed Following Multi-Agency Coordination in Muscat
A specialized law enforcement team from India's Central Bureau of Investigation took custody of Sourabh Chandrakar in Muscat and escorted him back to India on November 1, 2026. The custodial transfer brought a physical conclusion to a multi-year effort by Indian federal agencies to secure the return of the alleged promoter behind the Mahadev Online Book illegal gambling network. Upon Chandrakar's arrival on Indian soil, law enforcement officials initiated standard post-extradition protocols, scheduling a mandatory medical examination and preparing filings to obtain a formal transit remand from local judicial authorities prior to transferring him to Chhattisgarh.
Investigating agencies have formally identified Chandrakar, a native of Durg district in Chhattisgarh who is in his early 30s, as a central architect of an illicit gambling syndicate that federal authorities previously pegged at generating proceeds of ₹6,000 crore. A official from the Central Bureau of Investigation told Hindustan Times that the agency, working alongside other central bodies, successfully secured the extradition from the Sultanate of Oman following monthslong legal and diplomatic procedures. Officials confirmed that Chandrakar will be produced before the CBI Special Court in Raipur on November 2, 2026, where he faces prosecution across multiple pending criminal filings.
The successful execution of the extradition request followed tracking operations coordinated across international law enforcement bodies. Royal Oman Police located and detained Chandrakar in late June based on an Interpol Red Corner Notice issued at the request of Indian investigators. Following his initial apprehension in Muscat, both the Central Bureau of Investigation and the Enforcement Directorate submitted formal extradition dossiers and supporting criminal evidence to Omani administrative and legal authorities. The extradition process was maintained through joint efforts involving the Interpol National Central Bureau, Indian central agencies, and Omani ministry officials.
In an official statement released following Chandrakar's arrival, a Central Bureau of Investigation spokesperson stated that the official process represented a significant milestone in India's sustained efforts to bring back foreign-based fugitives who run transnational criminal enterprises against Indian citizens. The agency publicly acknowledged the assistance provided by the Omani government and the Royal Oman Police, stating in an official release that the level of cross-border cooperation reflects close and friendly relations between the two nations and a shared resolve to combat international organized crime.
Political Allegations and High-Level Bribery Claims
The criminal proceedings surrounding Chandrakar contain extensive allegations of institutional corruption involving senior political figures and state bureaucrats in Chhattisgarh. In court filings, the Enforcement Directorate alleged that Sourabh Chandrakar and his co-founder Ravi Uppal paid bribes totaling ₹508 crore to Bhupesh Baghel, who served as the Chief Minister of Chhattisgarh. The anti-money-laundering agency detailed these financial claims within one of its formal chargesheets submitted during the broader investigation into the syndicate's operational funding.
Federal financial investigators expanded their political inquiry in August 2023 by carrying out targeted search operations at the private residence of Vinod Verma, who was serving as political advisor to Baghel. According to investigative documents, central agencies established that the illegal betting network was capable of maintaining uninterrupted local operations due to the active support and connivance of regional law enforcement officials and politicians. The agency asserted that public servants and politically exposed persons systematically received illegal gratification in exchange for turning a blind eye to the syndicate's widespread gambling activities.
The political claims made by federal investigators have been vigorously contested by the targeted figures. Baghel has repeatedly denied all corruption and bribery charges brought against him by the Enforcement Directorate, characterizing the allegations as unfounded. Despite these political denials, the Central Bureau of Investigation assumed primary jurisdiction over the comprehensive criminal probe after the Chhattisgarh state government formally requested federal intervention in 2024 to investigate the full scope of the syndicate's local and international operations.
From Local Juice Stand to Gulf Luxury Holdings
Prior to establishing an international gambling enterprise, Chandrakar operated a retail juice shop in Durg district, Chhattisgarh. His career trajectory shifted in 2018 when he joined forces with local associate Ravi Uppal to launch the initial framework of the Mahadev betting network. Recognizing domestic regulatory risks and seeking to scale their operational reach, Chandrakar and Uppal relocated their personal residence and corporate leadership to Dubai around 2019. From the United Arab Emirates, the pair expanded the enterprise into an international digital network that ultimately reached millions of online users across India.
The syndicate maintained its market growth by deploying several secondary betting applications and digital domain names, including Tiger Exchange, Gold365, and Laser247. The revenue generated from these platforms funded an extremely lavish lifestyle for the promoters in the Gulf, which eventually attracted direct federal scrutiny. Indian law enforcement agencies focused heavily on the promoters' financial holdings after Chandrakar hosted an extraordinarily opulent wedding ceremony in the United Arab Emirates. Investigators documented that the promoters chartered private jets to transport family members and invited guests directly from India to the Emirates, while also paying millions of dollars to various Indian celebrities who were hired to perform at the private event.
The public display of extreme wealth triggered coordinated financial tracing by Indian tax and anti-money-laundering authorities, leading to extensive legal attachments of the promoters' foreign real estate holdings. In March 2026, the Enforcement Directorate issued formal attachment orders covering assets valued at approximately ₹1,700 crore tied directly to Chandrakar, Uppal, and their close business associates. The frozen international real estate portfolio included high-end residential apartments and luxury villas situated across Dubai, including multiple residential units located inside the Burj Khalifa skyscraper.
The financial enforcement actions against the syndicate extend beyond the primary promoters to encompass broader commercial networks and associated business figures. The Enforcement Directorate's Raipur Zonal Office separately attached movable and immovable properties worth ₹941 crore belonging to businessman Vikas Garg and his family members, bringing total seized assets in the broader Mahadev betting app investigation to ₹3,800 crore. As part of this expanding multi-state money laundering probe, federal agents previously arrested Garg for his alleged involvement with the Mahadev network and its associated gambling platform, Skyexchange. Furthermore, federal authorities recently arrested another key operative, Abhishek Kumar, following his arrival from Dubai on charges of coordinating operational panels, collecting illicit funds, and acquiring Dubai real estate using ill-gotten betting proceeds.
Diplomatic Friction and the Disappearance of Ravi Uppal
The successful extradition of Chandrakar from Oman contrasts with significant legal and diplomatic hurdles encountered by Indian law enforcement in neighboring jurisdictions. Both Chandrakar and his co-founder Ravi Uppal were initially located and detained under house arrest by authorities in the United Arab Emirates in October 2024 following the issuance of Interpol Red Corner Notices. Indian central agencies submitted formal extradition papers to the UAE government that same month, requesting the immediate surrender of both promoters to face pending criminal charges in India.
The initial extradition process in the United Arab Emirates encountered prolonged legal paralysis and was never executed by local judicial authorities, ultimately rendering the original Indian legal request infructuous. Gulf judicial authorities subsequently decided to close formal extradition proceedings against Uppal entirely. Following the termination of his extradition case and his subsequent release from UAE house arrest, Uppal went missing in the United Arab Emirates, as reported by Hindustan Times on November 4, 2025.
Following the unexecuted extradition request in the UAE that was eventually rendered infructuous, Chandrakar was located in Muscat and detained by Royal Omani police in late June based on an Interpol Red Corner Notice. The Central Bureau of Investigation and the Enforcement Directorate subsequently submitted formal extradition proposals accompanied by the evidence gathered against him, allowing a specially deputed agency team to take custody of him and escort him back to India.
Franchise Architecture and Illicit Money-Laundering Channels
The comprehensive probe conducted by the Central Bureau of Investigation revealed that Mahadev Online Book was structured as a highly organized, franchise-style commercial network designed to operate seamlessly across multiple Indian states while insulating its core executive leadership in the Gulf from direct police interference. The central platform offered illegal online wagering options covering major sports events such as cricket and football, alongside interactive poker, card games, and digital casino games. Central operators monetized the platform by selling operational franchises—designated internally as "panels" or "branches"—to regional managers scattered across Indian municipalities.
These local panel operators were tasked with enrolling retail users, accepting cash and digital wagers, managing daily betting operations, and distributing winnings. To handle the massive volume of daily financial transactions without raising immediate regulatory alarms, the syndicate established a vast banking infrastructure utilizing thousands of mule bank accounts. These accounts were opened using fraudulent documents, rented identities, or straw account holders. Illicit betting stakes collected from retail bettors were funneled into these intermediary accounts, where funds underwent rapid, multi-layered transfers between shell entities to obscure their true origin before being withdrawn from the formal domestic banking sector.
Once layered through domestic accounts, the syndicate moved the proceeds out of India primarily through informal hawala networks and cryptocurrency transactions, allowing Chandrakar and Uppal to accumulate massive foreign currency reserves in the Gulf. To protect this vast financial pipeline, the CBI established that the syndicate set aside dedicated funds to pay protection money to local public servants and police personnel. The agency subsequently filed formal chargesheets under the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988, alongside Indian Penal Code provisions governing criminal conspiracy, cheating, and forgery, as well as the Chhattisgarh Gambling (Prohibition) Act.
Ongoing Operations and Scale of Unlawful Proceeds
Despite the arrest and extradition of Chandrakar, legal filings by federal agencies indicate that the syndicate's operational infrastructure remains largely functional. In its sixth formal chargesheet submitted in September 2026, the Enforcement Directorate reported that the Mahadev online betting app and its associated sister websites have generated estimated proceeds of crime totaling ₹94,400 crore over the past 10 years. Financial investigators highlighted that despite sustained law enforcement actions against key executive figures, the primary betting platform continues to operate internationally by running a huge number of active betting panels.
Chandrakar currently faces formal prosecution across multiple distinct judicial filings in India. The Central Bureau of Investigation has submitted two comprehensive chargesheets against him, while the Enforcement Directorate has filed a separate prosecution complaint detailing systematic money-laundering offenses. With Chandrakar returning in CBI custody to face the CBI Special Court in Raipur on Monday, November 2, 2026, federal prosecutors intend to seek extended physical custody to interrogate him regarding the remaining active panels, the unrecovered funds, and the precise whereabouts of his missing co-founder, Ravi Uppal.
This report was prepared with AI assistance and checked against the sources it relied on. Read our editorial standards and methodology.
Corrections
If you believe this article contains an error, please contact the newsroom with the details and supporting evidence.
