Mahadev app founders went from juice-tyre shop to making Rs 200 crore per day

Sourabh Chandrakar and Ravi Uppal, masterminds of the Mahadev money laundering scheme, once ran juice and tyre shops in Chhattisgarh. Their foray into the world of online betting was relatively recent, and has now landed them under the Enforcement Directorate’s scanner. Through their Mahadev betting apps empire, Chandrakar and Uppal are estimated to have made Rs 200 crore per day – a remarkable jump indeed from their humble beginnings in Chhattisgarh’s Bhilai.

The Enforcement Directorate is investigating the money laundering operations of the Mahadev Online Book app, which may be to the tune of Rs 5,000 crore.

Sourabh Chandrakar and Ravi Uppal ran their massive gambling empire from the UAE. It was active not only in the UAE but also in India, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. The ED is now looking for the two men and has issued non-bailable warrants against them.

According to an NDTV report, until a few years ago, Chandrakar was running a juice shop in Bhilai's Nehru Nagar, while Ravi Uppal owned a tyre shop. They both became addicted to gambling. With their savings, the two travelled to Dubai where they met a sheikh and a Pakistani national, the report said.