indiaempire

[indiaempire]

580-cr stock investments frozen in Mahadev app case

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has frozen investments in shares and securities worth Rs 580 cr belonging to an alleged hawala operator based in Dubai, Hari Shankar Tibrewala, associated with promoters of the tainted Mahadev group, Saurabh Chandrakar and Ravi Uppal.

The ED said that Tibrewala is also involved in bookie businesses and operates a separate gaming platform in India.ED alleged that Tibrewala plays a key role in routing money earn through gaming-betting business in India. On Friday, the ED issued a press release that said, “He found to be associated with the illegal betting site skyexchange. It was found that Tibrewala had invested betting proceeds in the Indian Stock market through Foreign Portfolio Investment (FPI). He had appointed several associates as directors in various companies to conceal the origin of the betting funds. Tibrewala was also deeply involved in hawala movements of these funds.” Tibrewala, who hails from Kolkata, owns a star-hotel in Dubai, which allegedly serves as the base for his illegal gaming-betting operation in India. TOI tried to contact Tibrewala on the contact number provided on his company website of his office at Jumeirah Lake Towers in Dubai, but no one responded to the call. The ED is investigating “Mahadev Online Book,” which is involved in setting up online platforms for illegal betting sites. The group's activities include registering users, creating their IDs, and channeling money through a network of fake accounts. The probe was initiated based on FIRs filed by police in multiple states.