In 2023, Delta Corp and its two subsidiary companies received show cause notices from the Directorate General of GST Intelligence (DGGI), Hyderabad, for alleged short payment of Goods and Services Tax (GST) aggregating to ₹16,822.9 crore for the period July 1, 2017, to March 31, 2022.
Ability Games, owned by accused Suraj Chokhani, was one of the 16 entities used by Mahadev in layering and concealing crime proceeds generated through illegal betting operations.
The probe by ED has pegged the proceeds of crime generated through illegal betting operations of Skyexchange, an entity linked to Mahadev Online Book scam between September 2020 and February 2024 at ₹3,916 crore approximately. Additionally, the other linked entity, Lotus365.com, was making around ₹50 crore per month in cash. The agency has pegged the tentative proceeds of crime ₹2,400 crore for a period of 48 months.
In his statement to ED, Manoj Jain, CEO of Delta Corp Ltd -which is part of the third chargesheet, has elaborated on the deal with Ability Games. Delta Corp wanted to sell 100% of its casino business in Nepal, which was invested through its wholly-owned subsidiary, Caravella Entertainment. Chokhani’s Ability Games was supposed to buy 65% shares of Caravella Entertainment while the balance 35% were to be bought by Ashtek Consultancy, promoter by Ajit Mittal. That, it was agreed that ₹10 crore will be paid in cash over and above ₹80 crore, which was the enterprise value of Caravella Entertainment,” the statement reviewed by ET reads.
An email sent to Delta Corp remained unanswered until press time.Earlier this year, the agency had frozen shares worth ₹1,100 crore held in demat accounts linked to the accused in the case. The ED suspects most of these stocks were small and mid-cap stocks. ED’s findings come at a time when Sebi chief Madhabi Puri Buch has raised concerns over stretched valuations of small- and mid-cap stocks, which are generally favoured by retail investors and have continued to enjoy their patronage through monthly purchase mandates to mutual funds built around such investment themes.
The third supplementary chargesheet has been filed against 23, including 14 entities which are suspected to be conduits used to invest in the share market.
