Saurabh Chandrakar, who is now accused of running a betting empire worth Rs600 crore, used to earlier steal paltry sums to fund his betting addiction, said his uncle Dilip Chandrakar in his statement recorded in the ED's charge-sheet. Before flying to Dubai in 2019, Chandrakar ran a small juice corner along with his brother Geetesh and one Shubham Jain.
Chandrakar, Uppal resorted to theft for betting money
It was in 2015 when the accused met Ravi Uppal, another key accused, at his 'Juice Factory', recalled Dilip and Jain in their statements. Chandrakar and Uppal, who came from a lower-middle-class, struck a cordial note as both were 'passionate' about betting and regularly resorting to theft to arrange funds for the same. The family would never trust the duo when it came to money matters, said Dilip.
Chandrakar continued to operate the juice corner until 2017. In September 2019, the duo relocated to Dubai and swiftly gained prominence in the gambling world. The charge-sheet further indicates that the day-to-day affairs of the multi-crore empire – which sits on strong foundations of money laundering – is managed by “checkers”. The duo brought thousands of people from their hometown in Chhattisgarh's Bhilai to the Gulf and gave them employment in the form of managing complex transactions. Their primary responsibilities are to monitor the accounts of betting panels and identify defaulting panels. The 'checkers' live together in shared accommodations in multiple villas.
Rs112 crore transferred through hawala company for wedding
According to the charge-sheet, Geetesh also moved with his family to Dubai in 2022, and is currently managing the Fairplay and Reddy Anna betting accounts. Chandrakar spent more than Rs7 crore on hiring a chartered plane to transport near and dear ones and celebrities for his wedding. The ledger book indicates that Rs83,000 alone was incurred on the chartered travel of Tiger Shroff. Digital evidence shows that Rs112 crore was transferred through 'hawala' to the event management company handling the wedding.
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