ED Chargesheets EaseMyTrip Cofounder Nishant Pitti, Attaches ₹59.6 Cr Shares

The Enforcement Directorate has chargesheeted EaseMyTrip cofounder and chairman Nishant Pitti in its money-laundering investigation linked to the Mahadev online betting app. The agency’s fifth supplementary prosecution complaint was filed before a special PMLA court in Raipur on September 10, making it the sixth chargesheet filed in the wider case.

The ED alleges that Pitti facilitated the movement of proceeds generated through illegal betting into the Indian equity market under the guise of foreign portfolio investments. As part of the proceedings, the agency has also provisionally attached demat shares worth ₹59.6 crore belonging to Pitti and has sought the court’s permission to confiscate them, describing the shares as alleged proceeds of crime. These remain allegations before the court and do not amount to a finding of guilt.

According to reports citing the investigation, the ED has linked Pitti to Dubai-based betting operator Hari Shankar Tibrewal and alleged that funds connected to betting platform Skyexchange were routed through overseas entities into Indian equities. The agency has also alleged a pre-arranged transaction involving shares of Easy Trip Planners. Pitti has disputed the allegations and said he was unaware of the chargesheet and had not been summoned by the jurisdictional court.

Pitti said his transactions and assets were lawful and routed through formal banking channels, adding that he would place evidence before the appropriate court. EaseMyTrip separately said it had not received any formal communication regarding legal proceedings against either the company or Pitti.

The Mahadev investigation has expanded substantially since the ED began probing the alleged betting network. The agency has arrested 14 people and attached assets worth about ₹1,885 crore so far, according to the latest reporting. For EaseMyTrip, the immediate issue is now how the legal proceedings involving one of its founders develop, while the underlying allegations remain subject to judicial scrutiny.