Mahadev betting app promoter brought back from Oman, months after arrest in ₹6000 crore money laundering case

Sourabh Chandrakar set up the Mahadev betting empire along with co-founder Ravi Uppal.

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has extradited Sourabh Chandrakar, the alleged mastermind behind the ₹6,000-crore Mahadev online betting syndicate, from Oman. A team specially deputed to Oman escorted Chandrakar back to India. He will now be produced before the CBI Special Court in Raipur, an official told HT.

"CBI, in coordination with other central agencies has successfully secured the extradition of Sourabh Chandrakar, the promoter of the Mahadev App illegal betting syndicate, from the Sultanate of Oman. A CBI team specially deputed to Oman, has escorted him back to India. He will now be produced before the CBI Special Court in Raipur," the officer told HT, requesting anonymity.

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The development follows a series of efforts by Indian agencies to bring Chandrakar back to face investigation in the case. Based on an Interpol Red Notice, authorities in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) had briefly detained Chandrakar in October 2024 and placed him under house arrest. India sent an extradition request for him the same month. The request was not executed, eventually rendering it infructuous.

Based on the Interpol red notice, he was located in Muscat and detained by Royal Omani police in late June.

“CBI and ED immediately sent formal extradition proposals to the Sultanate of Oman, along with all the evidence gathered against him. The extradition request was pursued in close coordination with the agencies of the Government of India and the Interpol’s National Central Bureau (NCB), and with the support of the competent authorities of the Sultanate of Oman. Upon his extradition being granted, a CBI team travelled to Muscat and escorted him back to India,” said the spokesperson.

CBI, the spokesperson added, “acknowledges with gratitude the cooperation extended by the government of the Sultanate of Oman and the Royal Oman Police, which reflects the close and friendly relations between the two countries and their shared resolve to combat transnational organized crime”.

Asserting why Chandrakar’s extradition is crucial, an officer said that “several public servants including police officers and politicians who were allegedly bribed by Mahadev promoters are under the scanner in this case”.

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Ex-Chhattisgarh minister named

Former Chhattisgarh chief minister Bhupesh Baghel has also been named by the CBI in the case. ED had claimed in one of its charge sheets that

Sourabh Chandrakar and Ravi Uppal have paid bribes worth ₹508 crore to Bhupesh Baghel. It had also searched the residence of Vinod Verma, political advisor to Baghel, in August 2023. Baghel has repeatedly denied all the charges against him.

Chandrakar, who is in his early 30s, set up the Mahadev betting network in 2018 along with his associate and co-founder Ravi Uppal. Both hail from Bhilai in Chhattisgarh. Chandrakar reportedly ran a juice shop before entering the betting business.

The duo moved to Dubai around 2019 and allegedly built an international online betting network that reached millions of users in India. Investigators have alleged that the syndicate continued operating through several websites and applications, even as its promoters remained outside the country.

Ravi Uppal, Chandrakar's alleged associate and co-founder of the betting network, had gone missing from the UAE after authorities in the Gulf country decided to close extradition proceedings against him, as reported by HT on November 4, 2025.

How the Mahadev betting syndicate operated

According to investigators, Mahadev Online Book functioned through a franchise-based network of betting panels and branches across India. The platform reportedly facilitated betting on cricket and other sports, poker, card games and other online games.

The syndicate allegedly operated through several platforms and domain names, including Tiger Exchange, Gold365 and Laser247. Local associates were recruited to run betting panels, enrol users and manage betting operations.

The CBI's investigation has found that the network generated illegal profits through these operations, which were allegedly routed through multiple mule bank accounts before being transferred abroad. The agency has also alleged that a portion of the proceeds was paid to public servants as protection money.

The ED has estimated the alleged proceeds of crime in the case at around ₹6,000 crore.