Mahadev betting app founder Sourabh Chandrakar arrested in Oman

Mahadev online betting app promoter Saurabh Chandrakar has been arrested in Muscat, Oman. According to information, Sourabh Chandrakar, founder of the Rs 6,000-crore Mahadev online betting syndicate and a declared fugitive, was arrested in Oman after allegedly entering the country on a forged Indonesian passport, officials said on Wednesday. India has sought his extradition.Chandrakar, who is in his 30s, was detained by the Royal Oman Police several weeks ago based on an Interpol Red Notice issued at the request of the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and the Chhattisgarh Police, officials said.
He is currently lodged at Muscat's Al Khoud detention centre. Oman has also registered a separate criminal case against him over the alleged use of a forged passport and illegal entry into the country. A joint CBI-ED team is expected to travel to Muscat once an Omani court clears the extradition request.  Chandrakar was detained by UAE authorities in Dubai in 2024 on an Interpol Red Notice, but was released after India's extradition request was not accepted. Officials said his plea to have the Red Notice withdrawn was later rejected by Interpol's Commission for the Control of Files, which held that the case pertained to financial crime and not political persecution.Officials said India is trying to either extradite or deport him from Oman given the gravity of the offences he faces. India and Oman share a good bilateral relationship and officials expressed confidence that they will succeed.
Chandrakar reportedly left for Dubai in 2019. Before that, he used to run a juice shop named "Juice Factory" with his brother in the Bhillai town of Chhattisgarh's Durg district. According to the ED, the Mahadev app operated as a large-scale international betting syndicate that facilitated alleged illegal betting through multiple online platforms and domain names such as 'Tiger Exchange', 'Gold365' and 'Laser247'. The agency has arrested 13 people as part of this investigation, naming a total of 74 entities as accused in the five charge sheets filed before a special PMLA court in Raipur (Chhattisgarh) till now.
In March, the ED said it had attached assets worth Rs 1,700 crore linked to Chandrakar, mostly in Dubai, including holdings in the Burj Khalifa. Co-founder Ravi Uppal, who allegedly ran the network with Chandrakar from Dubai after the duo fled India in 2019, is reported to have relocated to Vanuatu after UAE authorities closed extradition proceedings against him.