ED files money laundering case against YouTuber Elvish Yadav

A money laundering case has been initiated against Elvish Yadav, the winner of Bigg Boss OTT and a popular YouTuber, for allegedly using snake venom at his parties. The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has taken action under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) based on the FIR and charge sheet filed by the Noida police against Elvish Yadav and others involved in the snake venom case. The ED will investigate the alleged financial transactions related to the supply of snake venom at various locations, including hotels, clubs, resorts, and farmhouses in Delhi-NCR. Elvish Yadav is expected to be questioned by the ED soon.

Last November, the PFA organization filed an FIR against Elvish Yadav and five others for allegedly supplying snake venom, suspected to be used as a recreational drug, at a rave party in Noida. The case was transferred from Noida’s Sector 49 police station to Sector 20 police station on the orders of Gautam Buddha Nagar Police Commissioner Lakshmi Singh. Elvish Yadav was arrested on March 17, along with five others, and all were charged under the Wildlife (Protection) Act and Section 120A (criminal conspiracy) of the Indian Penal Code. Elvish was granted bail by the Gautam Buddha Nagar District Court five days after his arrest.

Subsequently, two more suspects, identified as Ishwar and Vinay, both residents of Haryana and known to Elvish, were arrested in connection with the case. On April 6, the Noida police filed a chargesheet against Elvish Yadav and seven others, alleging offenses ranging from snake smuggling to organizing rave parties. The chargesheet, spanning 1200 pages, stated that Elvish was in contact with snake charmers and that a poisonous snake and 20 milliliters of venom from the Krait species were recovered from the location.