New Delhi: Haryana-based singer Rahul Yadav, alias Fazilpuria, and YouTuber Elvish Yadav depicted protected species of snakes and iguanas in two of their videos which led to commercial gains of over Rs 2 lakh from the video platform YouTube, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) has alleged in its prosecution complaint filed Tuesday in a money laundering case against the duo.
It terms these as “proceeds of crime” and as commitment of the offence of money-laundering as defined under Section 3 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002, punishable under Section 4.
In the complaint or chargesheet, a copy of which ThePrint has accessed, the agency has submitted that a Haryanvi song titled 32 Bore, featuring Fazilpuria and Elvish, depicted lives snakes and iguanas at 10 different time stamps and had generated around Rs 1.24 lakh on the YouTube channel named Fazilpuria, run and managed by Sky Digital India.
The agency referred to another video titled ‘Fazilpuria Bhai Ke Shoot Pe Russian Se Mulakat Ho Hi Gayi @fazilpuria’, uploaded on the YouTube channel ‘Elvish Yadav Vlogs’, stating that it depicted exotic animals, including snakes and an iguana, and had generated Rs 84,000.
The agency filed the prosecution complaint before a special court in Gurugram against Fazilpuria, Elvish, Mohali-based Sky Digital India and its director Gurkaran Singh Dhaliwal.
The ED probe stems from two FIRs filed by the Uttar Pradesh and Haryana Police, the first of which was registered on a complaint from the NGO People for Animals (PFA), run by former Union minister and BJP leader Maneka Gandhi.
In late 2023, Elvish and his associates were booked for “supplying snake venom for rave parties” after the UP Police, along with PFA’s animal welfare officer Gaurav Gupta, laid a trap to expose the racket with the help of some district officials in Noida’s Sector 51. An aide of Elvish and four “snake charmers” were arrested and live snakes recovered from one such venue.
The agency submitted that no evidence had emerged regarding money laundering based on this particular FIR but from the second one.
The second FIR was registered by the Haryana Police in March 2024 under Section 51 of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972, and Section 11A of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960.
The police had booked Elvish, Fazilpuria and several others for using snakes in a video allegedly made at Earth Iconic complex in Gurugram and for uploading it on social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram and YouTube.
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The ED complaint
In its complaint, the ED has submitted that the YouTube channel Fazilpuria is run and managed by Sky Digital India as part of a contract signed in 2021.
It states that Fazilpuria had already received Rs 50 lakh from the firm in exchange for the master file of the video song 32 Bore, which was part of the contract that included a consideration amount of Rs 1 crore.
Fazilpuria produced four music videos under this contract, including 32 Bore, of which Sky Digital India is the exclusive distributor for three years. The video was uploaded on his YouTube channel, which has 1.15 lakh subscribers, on 28 June, 2023, and has garnered 56 lakh views.
“During the course of recording his statement, Shri Gurkaran Singh Dhaliwal accessed the manager’s account of the YouTube channel ‘Fazilpuria’, navigated to the analytics section of the video ‘32 BORE’, and extracted the lifetime revenue details. A screenshot printout was taken in his presence and signed by him in token of verification,” the ED complaint says.
“As per the analytics report, the song ‘32 BORE’ generated total revenue of USD 1,477.83 (equivalent to ₹1,24,067.52). He admitted that the said amount was credited into the account of Sky Digital India Pvt Ltd and had not been disbursed to Rahul Yadav at that stage,” it adds.
“This establishes the commercial exploitation of the protected species depicted in the video and the accrual and receipt of monetary benefit by Sky Digital India Pvt Ltd,” the ED states.
With reference to Elvish’s YouTube account, the agency submitted that he himself revealed having opened the account in 2016 and managing it himself.
The agency alleged that Elvish’s bank account had received a total payment of Rs 5.61 crore from Google as revenue from his YouTube channel, with Rs 84,000 generated from the video ‘Fazilpuria Bhai Ke Shoot Pe Russian Se Mulakat Ho Hi Gayi @fazilpuria’ that depicted exotic animals. The revenue was generated between 23 March, 2023, and 26 August, 2024.
The ED has argued that since the commercial use of protected species is an offence under the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972, and a scheduled offence under the PMLA, both Fazilpuria and Elvish, along with the director of Sky Digital India, are liable to face proceedings for money laundering.
“That scrutiny of ICICI Bank Account xxxxxxx, maintained in the name of Elvish Yadav, revealed consolidated receipts of ₹5,61,88,717/- from Google Inc. towards monetisation of the channel between 23.03.2023 and 26.08.2024. Out of this amount, ₹84,000/- is specifically attributable to the offending video and, therefore, constitutes proceeds of crime in the present matter,” the ED alleges.
“Accordingly, Elvish Yadav has generated, acquired, and possessed proceeds of crime to the extent of ₹84,000/- from the monetisation of the offending video, thereby committing the offence of money laundering as defined under Section 3 of the PMLA, 2002, punishable under Section 4,” it adds.
(Edited by Nida Fatima Siddiqui)
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