Mahadev Book founders detained in Oman and Dubai as India moves to extradite both

India’s Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has brought Surabh Chandrakar, one of the two founders of the illegal Mahadev Online Book betting platform, back from Oman. A second founder, Ravi Uppal, has also been temporarily detained in Dubai at India’s request, and New Delhi has started extradition proceedings. For PSPs and acquirers, the detail that matters is simple: this is what enforcement looks like once a high-risk betting network crosses from “licensed-looking app” into a cross-border money-laundering case.

1. Chandrakar had already been detained in the UAE before. He was placed under house arrest in December 2023 and again detained in Dubai in October 2024, but extradition did not happen and he later left the country.
2. In June 2026, Omani police arrested him on an Interpol Red Notice. India sent an extradition request in July, and on 1 November the CBI team took him out of Muscat.
3. Uppal is wanted in connection with money laundering and on an Interpol Red Notice. Dubai police arrested him in late 2023, then released him on bail. He later obtained Vanuatu citizenship and tried to get the Red Notice cancelled.
4. In November 2025, India’s Enforcement Directorate said Uppal had gone out of reach of the UAE authorities.
5. According to investigators, Mahadev Online Book took illegal bets on poker, card games, virtual cricket, and sports. It was run from an office in Dubai, operated more than 3200 betting points in India and abroad, and the founders allegedly took 70–75% of the profits. In September 2026, India estimated the suspected criminal proceeds at $10,7 млрд.

For high-risk payment flows, the useful part is the operating model: the platform was not just a website, but a distributed betting network with cross-border management, cash collection, and profit extraction. That is the kind of setup that tends to end with bank account freezes, law-enforcement requests, and uncomfortable questions for anyone touching the merchant flow.