The ongoing investigation by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in the Mahadev Book illegal betting app case has brought to light another of its subsidiaries named ‘The Lion Book app’. It is reportedly being promoted by Hitesh Khushalani and actor Sahil Khan.

A video celebrating the success of the aforementioned illegal betting app surfaced today with several Bollywood actors and artists including Suniel Shetty, Sanjay Dutt, Sophie Chowdhary, Daisy Shah, and many more spotted in the video. The party in concern is said to have taken place on September 20, 2022 at the Fairmont Hotel in Dubai, reported India Today.

The operations of Lion Book app are similar to how other apps within the Mahadev Book network are operated. A betting ID is provided to users for a fee and allows them to bet on various sports events. To lure in these victims, celebrities are hired to endorse these apps across social media.

The ED is already in the process of summoning more celebrities alleged to be involved by way of promoting the apps or attending mastermind Saurabh Chandrakar’s wedding in Dubai. Some of these celebrities have already been interrogated by ED.

Chandrakar and his partner Ravi Uppal are currently hiding in Dubai with the ED seeking Interpol’s assistance to bring them back to India.

However, the duo, in their first-ever statement yesterday, have claimed that the accusations against them are false. On the contrary, they have named a certain Shubham Soni as the actual mastermind while they are being merely made scapegoats in the matter, they claimed.

They further claimed that they have credible evidence to prove their innocence and have agreed to cooperate with the law enforcement agencies in their investigations.

It remains to be seen if both Chandrakar and Uppal visit India and cooperate with ED in their investigation. That would indicate if they are really serious about the matter or are just bluffing.