The Enforcement Directorate (ED) is currently investigating the Mahadev Online Betting scandal, revealing a unique money laundering technique using UPI IDs. The founders, Saurabh Chandrakar and Ravi Uppal, operated an illicit network involving illegal betting websites, with celebrities endorsing the scheme becoming entangled in potential proceeds of crime. The ED's probe has exposed the extensive use of UPI IDs for money laundering, connecting to a complex web of benami bank accounts. The Mahadev app founders are accused of running the operation from a central Head Office in the UAE, franchising "Panel/Branches" to associates on a 70:30 profit ratio. The alleged scam targeted vulnerable individuals, particularly those with lower incomes, using their UPI details for money laundering. The ED claims that funds were funneled to foreign entities through this scheme. Notably, celebrities like Atif Aslam, Rahat Fateh Ali Khan, Neha Kakkar, Vishal Dadlani, Tiger Shroff, Sunny Leone, and others are implicated in endorsing these betting entities. The investigation has also unveiled extravagant spending in India for advertising betting websites and self-promotion. Recent raids revealed that Chandrakar spent over Rs 200 crore on his wedding in the UAE, allegedly using proceeds of crime. ED is scrutinizing celebrities' endorsement agreements and fees, suspecting that they received proceeds of crime through hawala channels. Additionally, ED found links to Pakistan, where the accused planned to launch a similar app and allegedly made donations to the Congress in Chattisgarh, which are now under scrutiny.