Ravi Uppal, co-founder of the Mahadev betting app, was arrested in Dubai on Wednesday. The Enforcement Directorate (ED) and the are now making efforts to secure Uppal’s return to India at the earliest, news agency ANI reported.
An Interpol Red Corner Notice was issued against Uppal in October 2023. He was subsequently detained in Dubai in December that year but was released after 45 days.
The ED alleges that Uppal oversaw a hawala network involving transactions worth hundreds of crores of rupees. The agency has also accused him of maintaining links with politicians and bureaucrats in Chhattisgarh. According to the ED, he was a co-controller of the network and facilitated the movement of crores of rupees into India through hawala channels. In January 2026, the agency attached assets worth approximately ₹21 crore linked to him.
Ravi Uppal, 43, hails from Bhilai in Chhattisgarh and is one of the main promoters of Mahadev Online Book. He ran the betting operation from Dubai along with his business partner Sourabh Chandrakar. According to reports, Uppal is an engineering graduate.
Chandrakar and Uppal operated the Mahadev Book syndicate from Dubai, which they referred to as their ‘head office’. A large number of youth from Chhattisgarh were allegedly employed as managers, supervisors and other staff to run the illegal online betting operations, according to news agency PTI.
The ED has alleged that Uppal and Chandrakar, both hold passports issued by Vanuatu. The agency suspects that these passports were used to evade Indian investigative agencies and legal proceedings. Vanuatu does not have an extradition treaty with India.
The Mahadev Betting App case is a massive ₹6,000-crore financial scandal involving an illegal online gambling and betting syndicate operated from Dubai.
The Mahadev app, also known as the Mahadev Online Book (MOB), is primarily promoted by two Chhattisgarh-based absconding businessmen – Sourabh Chandrakar and Ravi Uppal. It is alleged to have generated proceeds of crime worth ₹80,000 crore since 2019.
The Government of Chhattisgarh had transferred 13 FIRs registered at different Police Stations of Chhattisgarh relating to the Mahadev Betting App to the CBI, which were taken over by the CBI. So far, the CBI has filed six chargesheets in the matter against 116 accused persons, including the main promoters of the Mahadev Betting App, panel operators, hawala operators and public servants of the Government of Chhattisgarh.
