ED Names EaseMyTrip Co-Founder Nishant Pitti As Accused In Mahadev Betting Case

The Enforcement Directorate has accused EaseMyTrip co-founder Nishant Pitti of channeling alleged betting proceeds into Indian equities through foreign portfolio investments. It has also provisionally attached his demat shares, valued at Rs 59.60 crore, under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act.

The attachment order came on September 10, when the ED filed its fifth supplementary charge sheet before a special PMLA court in Raipur. It has asked the court to confiscate the shares, saying they are proceeds of crime under the anti-money laundering law.

Pitti, 40, is chairman-cum-managing director of EaseMyTrip. A response from the company on the charges was awaited.

Pitti Allegations Detailed

The charge sheet calls Pitti a “close associate” of Hari Shankar Tibrewal, the Dubai-based owner of the alleged betting platform Skyexchange. The ED says Pitti helped push proceeds of crime into Indian equity markets through the FPI route.

The agency further says that, on behalf of the promoters of Easy Trip Planners Ltd, Pitti struck a pre-arranged deal with an associate of Tibrewal. In the agency’s telling, the arrangement was meant to move the company’s share price and artificially lift its market value.

The ED also said Pitti helped Tibrewal layer Skyexchange proceeds and knowingly acquired, possessed, concealed and used those funds, making him liable under PMLA. It also cited EaseMyTrip’s co-sponsorship of a cricket series in India in 2022 with Skyexchange as evidence, in its view, of an operational link between the entities.

Earlier Searches And Denials

The ED searched premises linked to Pitti in April 2025 and questioned him three times, including twice in August.

EaseMyTrip had previously denied any direct or indirect association with the Mahadev betting app or any other betting platform.

The ED also told the court that Tibrewal controlled several foreign firms that were allegedly used to launder Skyexchange proceeds through investments in Indian stock markets.

Mahadev Network Scope

The Mahadev Online Book, or MOB, also known as the Mahadev betting app, is allegedly operated and promoted by Chhattisgarh-based businessmen Sourabh Chandrakar and Ravi Uppal.

Both Chandrakar and Uppal are absconding. Interpol has issued Red Notices against them, according to the ED.

The agency has alleged that the betting network has generated about Rs 80,000 crore in proceeds of crime since 2019. The money laundering case was registered in October 2022 on the basis of FIRs and charge sheets filed by the Chhattisgarh Police.

Garg And Case Totals

The fifth supplementary charge sheet names 42 individuals and companies, including EBIX Group chairman Vikas Garg, 53. The ED arrested Garg in July after searches at his Delhi home. Following his arrest, the Delhi BJP removed him as convenor of its economic cell and cancelled his primary membership. He is now in judicial custody.

In Garg’s case, the ED alleged that he and linked entities received Rs 765.77 crore from entities owned or controlled by Tibrewal. The agency alleged that the money was used to acquire US-based Ebix Inc.

The ED said Garg, in a statement recorded under PMLA, admitted receiving money from Tibrewal’s overseas entities despite knowing of Tibrewal’s alleged role in illegal betting and that the funds were proceeds of crime generated through Skyexchange. The agency said Skyexchange began operations in 2016 and generated estimated proceeds of crime of around Rs 12,000 crore.

The ED told the court that the latest filing was its sixth charge sheet in the case, made up of one main charge sheet and five supplementary ones. It also said the investigation had been completed against all accused except three.

So far, the ED has arrested 14 people in the case, attached assets worth Rs 1,885 crore, named 116 accused across six charge sheets and carried out searches at 190 premises across the country.