 Bollywood actor Ranbir Kapoor, who had been summoned by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in connection with an online betting case, has requested an extension of two weeks to appear before the central probe agency in person.
The ED had issued a summons to Ranbir Kapoor, instructing him to appear at its Raipur office on October 6, Friday. However, on Thursday, the actor appealed to the ED for a two-week delay in his appearance.
According to sources within the Enforcement Directorate, Ranbir Kapoor had endorsed a subsidiary app that was also promoted by the promoters of the Mahadev Book app. The actor allegedly received cash payments for his promotional activities.
Kapoor's involvement is currently under investigation, specifically regarding allegations of receiving money through hawala channels from Mahadev Book app promoters Sourabh Chandrakar and Ravi Uppal for his role in promoting a subsidiary app.
Last month, India Today reported on actors and singers who attended Sourabh Chandrakar's wedding ceremony in the UAE in February of this year. The list of attendees included Tiger Shroff, Sunny Leone, Neha Kakkar, Atif Aslam, Rahat Fateh Ali Khan, Ali Asgar, Vishal Dadlani, Elli AvrRam, Bharti Singh, Bhagyashree, Kriti Kharbanda, Nushrratt Bharuccha, Krushna Abhishek, and Sukhwinder Singh.
The ED is currently investigating the Mahadev Book app, an online betting platform, along with several state police departments. According to digital evidence collected by the ED, Rs 112 crore was transferred via hawala to an event management company, and payments totaling Rs 42 crore were made in cash for hotel bookings.
A video from Sourabh Chandrakar's wedding reportedly showed several Bollywood celebrities in attendance. Additionally, an investigation is now underway into the app's success party held last year in September, which was attended by various Bollywood actors and singers who are currently under the ED's scrutiny.
Sources indicate that these prominent figures received cash payments through hawala channels from event management companies for both events. Furthermore, a "top" actor was allegedly hired for this year's app success party and was paid a substantial sum by the event agency.
The ED has taken action in the case, freezing and seizing assets worth Rs 417 crore related to the Mahadev online betting case. The company operated from Dubai and allegedly used the online book betting application to recruit new users, establish user IDs, and launder money through a complex network of Benami bank accounts. The ED also uncovered large-scale hawala operations used to divert betting proceeds to offshore accounts. Additionally, significant cash expenditures were made in India for advertising betting websites to attract new users and franchise seekers. The promoters of the company are originally from Bhilai, Chhattisgarh, and the Mahadev Online Book Betting application served as an umbrella syndicate for facilitating illegal betting websites through online platforms.
