Ravi Uppal, co-promoter of the Mahadev online betting app, has reportedly been arrested in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

Officials told news agency PTI that authorities in Dubai arrested the 46-year-old on the basis of an Interpol Red Notice issued against him at the request of Indian investigating agencies. 

According to the report, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the Enforcement Directorate are now working to extradite Uppal back to India.

This comes days after the extradition of fellow Mahadev app co-promoter Saurabh Chandrakar from Oman to India. A CBI team brought Chandrakar back after a court there permitted his extradition to India in connection with a money laundering case being investigated by the ED.

Subsequently, a special court in Raipur, earlier this week, granted eight custody of Chandrakar to the CBI.

Uppal’s arrest in the UAE marks a development in the ongoing ED probe into the betting platform. He was previously also detained in the UAE in 2023, but local investigating agencies reportedly subsequently found that he was in Australia.

Agencies have reportedly also claimed that Uppal obtained a passport from Vanuatu, an island nation in the South Pacific, just like Chandrakar.

This comes nearly years after the Enforcement Directorate filed a chargesheet against Uppal in October 2023 in connection with the alleged Mahadev app betting scam. 

As per investigators, the platform operated from outside India through a network of franchised panels and branches, which enrolled users and facilitated illegal betting on cricket, football and other events.

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