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UAE deports Indian fugitive wanted in Dh958 million betting and money laundering case
The State Monitoring Committee had been pursuing him since he reportedly disappeared after a raid on a commercial complex in Ahmedabad in March 2023
- PUBLISHED: Sat 6 Sept 2025, 2:36 PM
The UAE has deported a man wanted in India on charges of tax evasion, illegal gambling, and money laundering, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) said in a press release.
Harshit Babulal Jain was flown to Ahmedabad on September 5 and handed over to Gujarat Police, according to the CBI, India’s top federal investigative agency that also serves as the country’s liaison office with Interpol.
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The CBI said Jain had been the subject of a Red Notice issued by Interpol in August 2023 at the request of Gujarat Police. The agency added that it worked with India’s Ministry of External Affairs, the Ministry of Home Affairs, and UAE authorities to coordinate his deportation.
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Indian media, citing Gujarat Police, reported that Jain was the key accused in a betting racket that moved an estimated Rs2,300 crore (around Dh958 million) through multiple bank accounts.
Nirlipta Rai, Deputy Inspector General of the State Monitoring Cell (SMC), was quoted as saying that Rs9.62 crore (Dh4 million) spread across 481 accounts had been frozen, and that more than 1,500 accounts were linked to the illegal operation.
Rai said Jain was tracked down in Dubai after an Interpol alert and deported following a formal proposal sent to UAE authorities in December 2023.
The SMC had been pursuing Jain since he reportedly disappeared after a raid on a commercial complex in Ahmedabad in March 2023, where police claims to have first uncovered evidence of the large-scale betting and money laundering racket.
The CBI noted that more than 100 wanted individuals have been returned to India in the past few years through Interpol coordination, many of them from the Gulf region.
Mazhar Farooqui, or Maz, is a multiple award-winning investigative journalist and Senior Editor at Khaleej Times. Renowned for exposing corruption and uncovering major scams, he is also the author of The Maz Files: Scoops, Scams & Showdowns.
