Mahadev betting app funds used in share price manipulation, layering market investment: ED

Raipur: The Directorate of Enforcement (ED) has said that the funds generated through the illicit betting platform ‘Mahadev Online Book Betting APP case’ were strategically deployed to “manipulate the stock prices” of SME (small and medium enterprise) sector securities, ultimately deceiving common investors.

This shocking revelation is an outcome of the April 16 raids and subsequent investigation, which the agency’s Raipur arm had conducted at various locations, including Delhi, Mumbai, Indore, Ahmedabad, Chandigarh, Chennai, and Sambalpur (Odisha) under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002.

The funds, the investigation revealed, were siphoned off “outside India” and later reintroduced into the “Indian stock market” under the disguise of “foreign FPIs” originating from Mauritius, Dubai, and other locations, the ED said.

According to the ED, investigations have uncovered large-scale financial irregularities.

Shockingly, evidence suggests that “promoters of certain listed companies” played a direct role in laundering these illicit funds.

By misusing “preferential shares, sale of promoter-held stocks, and share warrants”, these promoters allegedly worked alongside middlemen and agents to artificially inflate their company valuations using “tainted money”, said the money laundering investigation agency.

Further scrutiny has revealed that some listed companies were “utilised for layering stock market investments”, adding to the complexity of the scam, it said.

As investigations intensify, authorities aim to “expose the full extent” of this “massive financial scandal”.

The agency is investigating the case further. The “search operations led to significant seizures”, including Rs 3.29 crore in cash and the “freezing of securities, bonds, and DEMAT accounts worth over Rs 573 crore”.

Additionally, incriminating documents and electronic records have been recovered, further exposing the complex web of financial fraud.

So far, ED has “conducted searches at over 170 locations”, resulting in the seizure, freezing, and attachment of “immovable and movable assets valued at approximately Rs 3,002.47 crore”. The crackdown also led to “the arrest of 13 individuals”, with “74 entities” officially named as “accused” in five prosecution complaints related to the case.

IANS