ED arrests Ebix group chairman Vikas Garg in illegal betting case
The Directorate of Enforcement (ED) on Tuesday (July 14, 2026) stated that it has arrested Vikas Garg, chairman of Ebix group, in a multi-crore-rupee money
The Directorate of Enforcement (ED) on Tuesday (July 14, 2026) stated that it has arrested Vikas Garg, chairman of Ebix group, in a multi-crore-rupee money laundering case linked to the Mahadev online betting app. It is alleged that the 53-year-old businessman routed ill-gotten money from the betting app into the entities owned and controlled by him. Arrested in Delhi “Vikas Garg, chairman of Ebix, has been arrested by ED in the case of Mahadev online betting case. He was arrested by ED from his house at Delhi and being taken to Raipur after obtaining transit remand from the court.
He will be produced before PMLA [Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002] Court, Raipur tomorrow,” a press release issued by the agency said. Last week, the ED had stated that it has attached properties of Vikas Garg, his family members and entities owned and controlled by him, valued at ₹940.77 crore. “The ill-gotten money from the betting app routed into the entities owned and controlled by Vikas Garg. The said funds were further layered through various entities and were utilised, inter alia, for acquisition of shares, securities and other assets,” the ED release added.
An ED official said that Mr. Garg is the promoter of three listed entities, namely Vikas Ecotech Limited, Vikas Lifecare Limited, and Eraaya Lifespaces Limited. It has been found that he acquired a 64% stake in EbixCash through Eraaya Lifespaces Limited by “utilising ill-gotten funds allegedly generated from illegal betting activities”. The alleged kingpin of the betting network is Saurabh Chandrakar from Chhattisgarh’s Bhilai who co-founded the Mahadev Online Book app in 2018 and developed a large network of illegal betting panels, according to investigating agencies.
Chandrakar along with another app co-founder Ravi Uppal allegedly enrolled users and ran games and betting markets that generated illegal profits. The money generated was then laundered and transferred abroad. The scam is pegged at around ₹6,000 crore, and the CBI described it “as one of the largest illegal betting syndicates unearthed in the country, run from outside Indian soil”.
The BriefWire