Gujarat leader’s luxury wedding linked to betting money, probe reveals

The Enforcement Directorate has uncovered a massive money trail flowing through the bank account of a Rapido bike driver, funds that were allegedly used to finance an extravagant destination wedding at Udaipur’s Taj Aravalli Resort.The wedding, linked to Gujarat youth political figure Aditya Zula, took place in November last year, but the source of the funds used for the luxury event has triggered serious questions. During its probe into the 1xBet illegal betting network, the ED stumbled upon a financial pattern that has raised serious red flags.

While probing, the bike driver’s account received astonishing deposits worth Rs331.36 crore between August 2024 and April 2025. Over Rs1 crore from this account was allegedly funnelled into expenses for the high-profile Udaipur wedding. The money typically arrived from unidentified sources and was quickly transferred to other suspicious accounts, one of which has now been directly linked to illegal betting operations.The scale of the deposits and the casual misuse of an unsuspecting citizen’s financial identity has left investigators stunned.Officials believe the use of the driver’s account was an organised effort to disguise the origins of the funds.

According to investigators, the account appeared to operate as a mule account, receiving money from several unidentified sources and transferring it almost immediately to other suspicious accounts. They believe the use of a third-party account was likely intended to disguise the true source of the funds and evade financial scrutiny. This case shows how mule accounts are being used to finance grand weddings and other high-value events, turning ordinary people into the face of illicit financial activity without their knowledge.