The proceeds of crime in the Mahadev betting app case have risen exponentially from approximately Rs 11,000 crore to Rs 92,000 crore since 2023, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) told a special court Friday while seeking custody of Saurabh Chandrakar, the alleged kingpin of the betting empire. The betting app is still operational, and the proceeds of crime are increasing, the agency told the special Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) court in Raipur.The revised total proceeds of crime for the Mahadev online booking application are estimated at between Rs 75,000 and Rs 80,000 crore. For its sister website, Skyexchange.com, the total is estimated at Rs 11,000 to Rs 12,000 crore, while Lotus365.com is estimated at Rs 2,400 crore. Incidentally, the exponential rise was seen even after the ED filed its first prosecution complaint (equivalent to a chargesheet) on October 20, 2023. Till now, the ED has filed five supplementary prosecution complaints against over 100 accused and attached movable and immovable properties in India and abroad collectively worth Rs 9,000 crore.On Friday, the ED produced Chandrakar before the PMLA court in Raipur, where the agency sought seven days’ custody. Chandrakar’s lawyer, Tushar Giri, said, “The ED asked for seven days’ remand, and we agreed to it. We want to fully cooperate with the agency, and we want the truth to come out.”Earlier this month, Chandrakar was extradited from Oman by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). The agency told the court, while seeking Chandrakar’s custody, that it wanted to identify the police officers, government officials and politicians who were taking bribes from the syndicate to allow it to run the operations. After eight days in CBI custody, Chandrakar was sent to judicial custody, after which the ED sought his custody.Origins, operations and money-laundering networkChandrakar, along with Ravi Uppal, another key accused in the case, left India in 2022, set up their head office in Dubai, and brought over a hundred youths from Chhattisgarh to help run their empire. They allegedly ran a franchise-based illegal betting network named ‘Mahadev online book’ across India, accepting bets on sports as well as elections.Chandrakar’s name first made headlines in February 2023 after photos and videos of his lavish wedding in Dubai, worth over Rs 200 crore and attended by several Bollywood celebrities, surfaced on social media.Also Read | From Rs 15,000 salary to Rs 200-crore wedding: Mahadev accused Saurabh Chandrakar’s riseThe case also took a political turn days before the 2023 Assembly polls in Chhattisgarh, when one of the main accused, Shubham Soni, currently detained in Dubai in a money laundering case, released a video claiming he paid a huge amount to then Chhattisgarh chief minister Bhupesh Baghel. The video was released by the then Opposition BJP on its official media handle. Baghel refuted the allegation, saying the BJP was the one taking money to allow the app to function, while his government had cracked down on the panel operators.Story continues below this adAccording to police sources in Chhattisgarh, the app began operations in 2017, but its reach among users increased significantly during the pandemic in 2020. They ran their gambling network under different names such as laser247.com, bethbhai.com, betbook247.com, tigerexch247.com, cricketbet9.com, Teen Patti, Poker, and Dragon Tiger, betting on cricket, tennis, football, and badminton.Rigged games, mule accountsThe syndicate also allegedly acquired Reddy Anna and co-owns Fair Play and advertised their gambling network through closed groups on WhatsApp, Telegram and Facebook pages. They are accused of rigging all the games to ensure they keep 70-75 per cent of the money. The syndicate is estimated to be earning Rs 450 crore per month.The syndicate allegedly opened bank accounts using documents of poor and unsuspecting people. The money was allegedly channelled through a few layers of accounts and sent abroad, and none of the money was brought under the tax net. The syndicate also allegedly used professional Hawala operators in Mumbai and Gujarat to send the money abroad.