Mahadev app co-founder Ravi Uppal arrested in Dubai days after kingpin Sourabh Chandrakar’s extradition

Ravi Uppal, co-founder of the Mahadev betting app, has been arrested in Dubai, sources said on Wednesday, barely a week after the kingpin and founder Sourabh Chandrakar was extradited to India from Oman.

Sources said the UAE authorities have not yet intimated India about Uppal’s arrest, but the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) are working to bring him back to India at the earliest.

An Interpol Red Corner Notice was issued against Uppal in October 2023, and he was subsequently detained in Dubai in December that year but released 45 days later.

Uppal managed a hawala network involving hundreds of crores of rupees and was responsible for maintaining contacts with politicians and bureaucrats in Chhattisgarh, said sources in ED.

In January 2026, assets worth about Rs 21 crore linked to Uppal were attached.

The ED wants to question Uppal to trace the hawala network, the money trail and the beneficiaries of the illegal earnings, sources said.

Uppal and Chandrakar hold Vanuatu passports

According to the ED, Uppal and Chandrakar, both from Bhilai in Chhattisgarh, acquired Vanuatu passports to evade Indian investigative and legal processes. Vanuatu does not have an extradition treaty with India.

“Uppal is a vital cog in the entire Mahadev organisation. He handled hawala deliveries running into hundreds of crores of rupees and was also the principal point of contact to liaise with the politicians and bureaucrats in Chhattisgarh. His interrogation will be crucial to establishing the money trail and identifying the beneficiaries of the illegal proceeds,” said a source in ED.

Chandrakar was brought back from Muscat by a special CBI team on Sunday. He is wanted in two CBI cases and one ED case, and will face trial as chargesheets have been filed in all the three cases.

Meanwhile, another accused named Vikas Chhaparia, who was allegedly the network’s financial manager, is also in Dubai, sources said.

The ED estimates the turnover of the Mahadev network and its associated platforms at Rs 88,000 crore to Rs 94,000 crore. It alleges that Rs 4,000 crore to Rs 5,000 crore was sent out of India to the UAE and other countries. The agency has filed six chargesheets naming 116 accused and has arrested 14 people.

The ED has been investigating the alleged financial operations of the betting syndicate, including the movement of illegal betting proceeds through numerous bank accounts, hawala operators and overseas entities.