Who Is Delhi-Based Businessman Vikas Garg? ED Attaches Rs 940.77 Crore of His Assets

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has provisionally attached assets worth around Rs 940.77 crore linked to Delhi-based businessman Vikas Garg, his family members and entities allegedly owned or controlled by him in connection with the Mahadev Online Book and Skyexchange money laundering case.

The attachment’s prime target is Delhi-based businessman Vikas Garg, who is the chairman of Ebix Inc. and promoter of several listed companies, including Vikas Ecotech, Vikas Lifecare and Eraaya Lifespaces. The ED’s action also covers his family members and closely held corporate entities, the release said.

The ED took this action under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002, according to an ED press release on July 10. The assets attached include residential properties, plots of land, shares of equity and other securities, the agency said. They are part of a wider probe into an alleged illegal online gambling ring.

The probe was launched after the Chhattisgarh Police in Durg registered an FIR, and police in Chhattisgarh, Andhra Pradesh and West Bengal registered several FIRs against operators and associates of illegal online betting platforms, the ED said.

The agency found that the syndicate operated through a panel network on a franchise basis from outside the country. The network was also said to be earning more than Rs 450 crore per month from illegal betting activities.

Money Allegedly Laundered Through Shell Companies

The ED said the money earned from the alleged betting operations did not go directly into assets. Instead, the agency routed the money through a web of transactions and shell companies before investing it.

As stated in the ED statement, the proceeds of crime generated from the illegal betting operations of Mahadev Online Book and Skyexchange were laundered through a multi-layered structure of accommodation entries arranged against cash through a web of shell entities and other layered transactions designed to project the tainted funds as untainted.

The agency also alleged that Rs 940.77 crore of the alleged proceeds of crime were diverted to firms owned or controlled by Vikas Garg. It stated that the money was subsequently used to buy shares, securities and other assets.

Total Attachments Touch Rs 3,800 Crore

This is the newest development in the Mahadev betting probe.

In the case, seven provisional attachment orders have already been issued, the ED said. It also said prosecution complaints, including supplementary complaints, have been filed before the Special Court under the PMLA in Raipur.

Earlier, foreign assets and assets worth about Rs 2,825 crore had already been attached, seized or frozen, the agency said. With the latest action, the total value of assets attached, seized or frozen in the case has now risen to nearly Rs 3,800 crore.

Investigation is on and further investigation is under progress, the ED said.

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