Key accused in ₹2,323 cr online betting, stock trading racket brought back to Ahmedabad from Dubai

In a breakthrough for Gujarat Police, the State Monitoring Cell on Thursday brought back Harshit Babulal Jain, the alleged kingpin of a multi-crore online betting and stock market racket, from Dubai after a successful extradition process. Jain, who had been absconding for over two years, was detained at the SMC office in Gandhinagar on Thursday afternoon.

According to the police, the racket first came to light in March 2023 an office at Sumel-6 Business Complex, Madhavpura, was raided and seized cash, laptops, POS machines, SIM cards, chequebooks, debit cards, and documents related to cricket and stock market betting. Four persons were arrested at the time, and the case was subsequently handed over to the SMC in April 2023 for deeper investigation.

Over the next two years, investigators traced hundreds of dummy bank accounts, fake rental agreements, and forged documents allegedly used to run illegal platforms such as cricketbet9.com, skyexchange.com, abexch.com, diamondexch9.com, bethl247.com, khalifabook, radhebook, mahadevbook, annakrishnabook, and CETF. The platforms were reportedly operated through an office named VVIP Software at PNTC Complex in Vejalpur, where transactions were carried out via the Meta Trader application.

Police said the conspiracy was masterminded through a firm named Mahavir Enterprises, registered in the name of Ajaykumar Jitendrakumar Jain, while Jain and his associates allegedly handled dummy firms and accounts to launder betting proceeds.

The investigation revealed financial transactions worth a staggering ₹2,323 crore routed through these accounts. So far, ₹9.62 crore has been frozen across 481 accounts, along with 1,507 beneficiary accounts and 139 debit card-linked accounts across multiple banks.

Jain, a resident of Shahibaug, had been evading arrest since 2023. Following a Look Out Circular (LOC) and later a Red Corner Notice (RCN) issued by Interpol, he was traced to Dubai. After coordinated efforts between the Gujarat Police, the Ministry of Home Affairs, and the Ministry of External Affairs, the Dubai authorities arrested Jain in late 2023. He was deported to India on September 5, 2025.

“The extradition was made possible due to excellent cooperation between the Gujarat government, the Government of India, and international agencies. The accused is now under detailed interrogation, and we will seek his police remand,” the SMC said in a statement.

To date, 37 persons have been arrested in connection with the racket. Police have also processed eight Look Out Circulars, three Red Corner Notices, two provisional arrest requests, and two extradition proposals in the case.