Now Reading: ED charges EaseMyTrip founder Nishant Pitti in betting app case
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ED charges EaseMyTrip founder Nishant Pitti in betting app case
The Enforcement Directorate has filed a chargesheet against EaseMyTrip co-founder Nishant Pitti in the Mahadev online betting app money laundering case, accusing him of helping channel illegal betting proceeds into the Indian…
The Enforcement Directorate has filed a chargesheet against EaseMyTrip co-founder Nishant Pitti in the Mahadev online betting app money laundering case, accusing him of helping channel illegal betting proceeds into the Indian equity market through foreign portfolio investments. The chargesheet was filed on September 10 before a special PMLA court in Raipur.
The agency has provisionally attached Pitti's demat shares worth Rs 59.60 crore, calling them proceeds of crime, and has sought court approval to confiscate them. The charges are part of the fifth supplementary chargesheet, which names 42 individuals and companies, including EBIX Group Chairman Vikas Garg, who was arrested in July.
Pitti denied awareness of the chargesheet, saying he has always cooperated with law enforcement and will contest any insinuation through the courts. The company said Easy Trip Planners Limited has not received formal intimation of any legal proceedings. The Mahadev app is allegedly linked to proceeds of crime worth Rs 80,000 crore.
Pitti is accused of entering a pre-arranged stock price manipulation deal with an associate of Hari Shankar Tibrewal, the Dubai-based owner of Skyexchange, to inflate Easy Trip Planners' share price.
Indian Opinion Analysis
The reporting is uniformly neutral, sticking to the ED's allegations and Pitti's denial. The Hindu leads with the stock manipulation accusation, while Rediff and Times Now foreground the scale of the investigation and the arrests. Missing from all three is independent verification of the charges or a response from the court. The ED has attached assets worth Rs 1,885 crore and named 116 accused across six chargesheets, so this case is part of a larger enforcement push. What will matter is whether the court confirms the attachment and how Pitti's evidence holds up under judicial scrutiny.
Coverage: 3 sources, 3 neutral
Sources (3): thehindu.com (neutral report), rediff.com (neutral report), timesnownews.com (neutral report)
This brief was synthesised by AI from the 3 sources linked above, so one read covers every framing they carry.
Updated: this story now draws on 3 sources.
