New Delhi: Businessman and former member of the Delhi unit of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Vikas Garg, held multiple meetings with betting platform SkyExchange promoter Hari Shankar Tibrewal in London to discuss funding for acquisition of US-based Ebix Group, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) has alleged in its prosecution complaint.
This series of meetings took place at London’s Taj Hotel at various times between March and July 2024, and was attended by Garg, along with then Ebix Group managing director Robin Raina and several key associates of both. A US insolvency court had approved the acquisition of Ebix Group by Garg’s Eraaya Lifespaces in August 2024. Tibrewal had earlier been charged by the agency as part of a probe into Mahadev Promoters.
The agency has made these allegations in its sixth prosecution complaint—or chargesheet—against Garg and the network of accused involved in the illegal betting application Mahadev Online Book. Having served in the economic cell of the Delhi BJP, Garg was arrested by the ED in July this year and subsequently expelled from the party. He is the son of former BJP legislator Nand Kishore Garg and shared a personal relationship with several party leaders in the Capital.
In the latest chargesheet, the agency submitted that the Mahadev Online Book application was still in operation and running a large number of panels. It calculated that Rs 75,000-Rs 80,000 crore in proceeds of crime were generated over the seven years of the app’s operations. The federal probe agency had opened a money-laundering case based on dozens of reports registered by the police in Chhattisgarh, Andhra Pradesh and other states for alleged illegal gambling.
The ED has alleged that Mahadev promoters Sourav Chandarkar and Ravi Uppal from Chhattisgarh’s Bhilai district set up Mahadev Online Book during the Covid-19 pandemic and created a web of online gambling and pyramid schemes to siphon off funds. According to the ED, money “duped” from people who joined the platform in the name of games was diverted to Uppal and Chandrakar through hawala channels.
Mahadev Online Book provides a platform for allegedly illegal betting on live games including poker, other card and chance games, as well as virtual cricket, badminton, tennis, and football. It also allows visitors to play card games like teen patti, poker and ‘Dragon Tiger’, among others.
ThePrint has reached out to Garg’s counsel Mohammed Faraz. This report will be updated if and when a response is received. At the time of his arrest, senior advocate Madhav Khurana had alleged that Garg was arrested without any basis and evidence on record.
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Tibrewal in sights
In the latest prosecution complaint, the ED has traced Garg’s involvement in the money-laundering proceedings to the months before signing up to acquire the cash-strapped Ebix Group and then forging a funding plan to submit to the US Insolvency Court—all with the active support of Tibrewal.
Citing statements made by several employees of Garg’s companies, the agency claims that he met Raina at Ebix’s office in Uttar Pradesh’s Noida in 2024 and forged a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to bring together investments to acquire Ebix Inc., which was undergoing insolvency proceedings before a US court.
After signing the MoU, Garg along with Raina and his colleagues, Vikas Verma and Krishan Kumar, flew to London in March 2024 and held a meeting with Tibrewal at London’s Taj Hotel, the agency submitted in the chargesheet. There was another round of meetings at the same venue after the US court gave its nod for Garg’s firm, Eraaya Lifespaces, to acquire Ebix Inc., during which they discussed the timing of the investment.
Based on the understanding reached during meetings, funds amounting to Rs 765.77 crore were routed to four of Garg’s firms through a web of shell companies operated by Tibrewal and his associates.
“It is submitted that from the investigation conducted so far, including analysis of digital evidence, bank account statements, and statements recorded under the relevant provisions of law, it has been revealed that Vikas Garg was very much having knowledge that Hari Shankar Tibrewal is involved in illegal betting,” the agency alleged in the chargesheet.
“Further, even after knowing the same, Vikas Garg through his entities received an amount of Rs. 765.77 crores from the overseas entities controlled by Hari Shankar Tibrewal viz. AG Dynamic Funds Ltd., Forbes EMF, Coeus Global Opportunities Fund, Oyster Bay Fund Ltd., Plutus Opportunities Fund Ltd. etc. through Elara Capital PLC. and further used the said funds in the acquisition of M/s Ebix Inc through Eraaya Lifespaces Ltd,” the agency has alleged.
According to the agency, Eraaya Lifespace received the lion’s share of Rs 577.90 crore from Tibrewal-controlled entities out of the Rs 765.77 crore received through FPI and FDI routes. In addition to these funds, Garg and his firms received Rs 175 crore in bogus bank entries from companies owned by Amit Saraogi and Sunil Bhandari, which the agency alleged were ultimately sourced from Tibrewal.
Eraaya Lifespaces acquired 97.58 per cent of the stake in EBIX Inc group from the US insolvency court in August 2024 at a cost of Rs 1,175 crore—all from the funding extended by Tibrewal’s companies, held and controlled by his associates, the agency alleged. Funds amounting to Rs 292 crore were transferred through Vikas Lifecare Limited, another of Garg’s firms, according to the agency’s chargesheet.
ThePrint also reached out to Tibrewal’s counsel Naman Joshi but he refused to comment, saying the matter is sub-judice.
The agency has also alleged forgery and a backdated arrangement to recoup proceeds of crime and to establish ownership of stakes in Ebix Group acquired from Tibrewal’s companies. It alleged that, earlier, an agreement between Garg and Raina to pool investment to acquire Ebix was forged in May 2024.
However, there was an additional agreement forged on 16 August that year setting the terms that if Eraaya Lifespaces fails to provide shareholding in the proportion of Rs.292.54 crores to Vikas Lifecare, then either Eraaya will return the amount with interest or, in case of failure to return the payment, Vikas Lifecare will acquire proportionate share in Ebix International Holdings (Ebix-UK), a subsidiary of Ebix.Inc., acquired by Garg.
“Here, it is also pertinent to be mentioned that on 16.08.2024, Eraaya had not acquired Ebix.Inc and the order was passed later on 31.08.2024. Therefore, without any company in its possession, Eraaya signed an agreement with Ebix.Inc (in fact its subsidiary Ebix-UK),” the agency alleged.
“Later on, by using this addendum, only VLL got 51% shareholding of EbixUK. Therefore, there were reasons to believe that the above-mentioned addendum dated 16.08.2024 would have been signed and backdated between two entities controlled by Vikas Garg to transfer control of a highly valuable Ebix subsidiary.”
(Edited by Nardeep Singh Dahiya)