In the Mahadev app case, the ED freezes securities holdings valued at Rs 580 crore

NEW DELHI: The Enforcement Directorate said on Friday that, following a series of nationwide searches earlier this week in connection with the Mahadev app money laundering case, it had frozen security holdings worth over Rs 580 crore. This was a significant action taken against an FPI (foreign portfolio investor) who had made significant investments in the Indian stock market.

The leader of the FPI in question has been named Hari Shankar Tibrewal, who is headquartered in Dubai and was born in Kolkata. He is said to be in charge of a “huge hawala” operation.
In addition to working with the Mahadev Online Book marketers, the ED claims that he is accused of laundering criminal gains for other politicians and bureaucrats who are already the subject of an inquiry.
In the Mahadev Online Book money laundering case, the Enforcement Department has frozen or attached assets totaling about Rs 1,300 crore via the freezing of securities holdings.
The ED found evidence of hundreds of crores invested in the stock market as well as digital records of hawala (illegal non-banking cash transactions) deals during the most recent searches in Kolkata, Delhi, Gurgaon, Indore, Raipur, and Mumbai.
According to the ED, during its investigations of Tibrewal and his colleagues’ properties, it was discovered that the former was using his firm domiciled in Dubai to invest the winnings from his bets in the Indian stock market using the FPI method. According to the agency, he had several colleagues working for him as directors of different shell businesses. It was further said that he was a part of the large-scale hawala movement of the betting monies.
“Security holdings worth Rs 580.8 crore in the name of entities beneficially owned by Hari Shankar Tibrewal have been frozen,” the Enforcement Directorate said.