CBI Extradites Mahadev App Co-Founder Sourabh Chandrakar from Oman, Delhi Court Grants Two-Day Transit Remand

The Central Bureau of Investigation has brought Sourabh Chandrakar, the alleged co-founder and mastermind of the ₹6,000-crore Mahadev Betting App, from Oman to India after Omani authorities cleared the extradition request. For PSPs and banks watching high-risk gambling flows, the case is another reminder of how quickly online betting proceeds can move across jurisdictions, panel accounts, and hawala routes before investigators catch up.

1. The CBI task force escorted Chandrakar from Muscat directly to New Delhi and produced him before Principal District and Sessions Judge Nikhil Chopra at the Rouse Avenue Court. The agency sought custody to execute an open-ended non-bailable warrant issued by the Special CBI Court in Raipur, Chhattisgarh, where chargesheets have already been filed for cheating, forgery, criminal conspiracy, and money laundering.
2. Chandrakar’s counsel, Advocate Tushar Giri, opposed the transit application and invoked the Doctrine of Speciality under Section 21 of the Extradition Act. The argument was that Omani authorities had approved extradition mainly on the basis of the Enforcement Directorate’s money laundering investigation, not the CBI’s predicate-offense cases. The CBI replied that both investigations arise from the same underlying fraud and fall within the jurisdiction of the same special court.
3. The Rouse Avenue Court overruled the defence objection and granted the CBI a two-day transit remand, directing officials to produce Chandrakar before the designated Special CBI Court in Raipur. He has now been brought to Raipur, where prosecutors are expected to seek further custodial remand.
4. Investigators say Chandrakar, who once ran a juice shop in Bhilai, built a multi-crore illegal gambling network across foreign countries. They allege the syndicate used thousands of panel accounts to layer online gambling proceeds of over Rs. 90,000 crores before moving the funds overseas through hawala channels.
5. The probe also covers protection payments to public servants, along with high-value shell companies and luxury assets acquired abroad. Investigators are expected to question Chandrakar on foreign bank transactions, offshore call centers, syndicate co-promoters, and political persons said to have helped Mahadev App spread.