Mahadev betting app case: ED raids Delhi premises of industrialist Vikas Garg in money laundering probe
The Enforcement Directorate (ED), Mumbai, on Wednesday conducted searches at the Delhi premises of industrialist Vikas Garg, owner of Ebix Cash, Vikas Ecotec, and Vikas Lifecare. Garg is already under investigation for alleged share price manipulation and money laundering linked to the Mahadev Betting app case.
According to officials, Garg was earlier searched in April and later summoned to the Raipur ED office for questioning. As per sources, Garg is an associate of Mahadev betting app mastermind Harishankar Tibrewal and is alleged to have used proceeds from Mahadev’s operations to manipulate share prices on a large scale.
He is also under investigation by multiple agencies, including the DRI (Mumbai and Gujarat), GST authorities, the Income Tax Department, and SEBI. Garg and his family are promoters of several companies, including Ebix Inc., Eraaya Lifespaces, Advika Capital, Vikas Lifecare, Vikas Ecotec, and others.
The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) is conducting a parallel probe into share price irregularities involving Garg’s firms. The latest ED searches are aimed at uncovering evidence of financial layering and fund diversion across multiple entities linked to him.
Earlier this year, ED unearthed a complex web of financial transactions allegedly used to channel illicit funds into the stock market and corporate acquisitions. Investigations earlier this year revealed that Harishankar Tibrewal, the alleged mastermind of the betting network, used Foreign Portfolio Investments (FPIs) to pump money into several listed Small and Medium Enterprises (SME).
According to the agency, these investments were intended to manipulate stock prices—artificially inflating them before offloading the shares for hefty profits, often doubling or tripling the original investment.
