Indian court rejects Satish Sanpal’s bid to quash six betting cases

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Dubai developer featured on Netflix faces UAE asset freeze, ongoing India proceedings

A Dubai property developer featured in the Netflix series Desi Bling suffered a fresh legal setback on Wednesday when an Indian court rejected his attempt to halt six criminal cases linked to alleged online cricket betting.
The Madhya Pradesh High Court ruled that the cases against Satish Sanpal, founder of ANAX Holding, should continue before a magistrate in Jabalpur, his home city in central India.

Sanpal had asked the High Court to quash the cases, arguing that he had lived in Dubai since March 14, 2020 and had not returned to India since. He claimed the allegations were made in his absence to damage his reputation and said investigators had found no money trail connecting him to the alleged offences. He had also sought permission to join the proceedings by video conference.

The court rejected the argument that his absence from India undermined the cases. It said a person accused of an offence carried out online or through electronic systems could still face criminal responsibility while living in another country.

Sanpal also challenged statements attributed to co-accused, the reliability of witnesses and the electronic evidence gathered by investigators. The High Court said those matters should be tested before the trial court, where he would remain free to present his defence.

The six cases were registered at four police stations in Jabalpur. Indian investigators allege that Sanpal operated an online cricket betting network from Dubai, using betting platforms, bank accounts and companies to receive and move money.

People familiar with the racket claim the operation was later sold to people associated with the Mahadev network, an online betting syndicate that Indian authorities say was run from Dubai. Mahadev provided betting accounts through thousands of local agents in India, who accepted wagers and handled payments. The alleged transaction involving Sanpal has not been established in court.

Sanpal denies wrongdoing, has secured bail in most of the cases and has not been convicted of any offence.

He became widely known this year after appearing with his wife, Tabinda, in Desi Bling, a Netflix reality series about affluent South Asians in Dubai. The programme showed the couple in luxury homes and aboard private yachts, with a collection of high-end cars. One episode featured a metallic pink Rolls-Royce Phantom presented to their daughter, Isabella, on her first birthday.

Sanpal spoke on the programme about leaving school after Class 8 and building his business career after moving to Dubai. ANAX Holding now has interests in property development, hospitality and financial services.

Court records reviewed earlier by NewsBeneath show that the allegations in India predate his appearance on Netflix.

An order issued in April recorded claims by co-accused that Sanpal and an associate, Dilip Khatri, supplied access to an online betting platform. That case followed a police raid in 2022.

The order said investigators had been unable to arrest Sanpal because he remained outside India. A non-bailable warrant and a Look-Out Circular issued in 2022 remained in force, while a supplementary charge sheet had yet to be filed.

Other police records have referred to shell companies and transactions totalling approximately US$35 million.

British corporate records list Sanpal as a citizen of Vanuatu, a Pacific island nation, and a resident of England. NewsBeneath understands that he is currently in London.

Wednesday’s ruling comes shortly after UAE authorities temporarily froze accounts and assets linked to Sanpal, Tabinda and ANAX-related entities during an ongoing money-laundering investigation.

Sanpal challenged reports of the freeze, saying no competent enforcement or regulatory authority had made an official announcement or public disclosure concerning the reported action.

The freeze was imposed less than two months after ANAX Developments announced ELLE Residences Dubai Islands, a luxury waterfront project being developed under licence from the French fashion brand.