ED Attaches Youtuber Elvish Yadav, Fazilpuriya's Assets Worth Rs 52 Lakh In Money Laundering Case

Lucknow: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has attached assets worth over Rs 52 lakh belonging to Youtuber and Bigg Boss OTT 2 winner Elvish Yadav, his friend and singer Rahul Yadav alias Fazilpuriya and a company in connection with an investigation into a money laundering case. According to the ED officials, a provisional order under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) was issued to attach agricultural land in the Bijnor district of Uttar Pradesh and some bank deposits of the three entities. The ED officials stated that the total value of the seized assets was found to be around Rs 52.49 lakh.

As per the statement issued by the Enforcement Directorate, Elvish Yadav and Fazilpuriya "illegally used protected species of snakes, exotic animals, such as iguanas, in the production of commercial music videos and vlogs to increase followers and generate money."

Noida Police Earlier Registered FIR Against Elvish Yadav

"These music videos were given to Sky Digital India Pvt Ltd, and then the videos were uploaded to YouTube for generating revenue," it said. The ED quoted a Noida police FIR to say that these music videos and vlogs caused "cruelty" to the wildlife.

Both Elvish and Fazilpuriya have been questioned by the federal agency in a case related to the suspected use of snake venom as recreational drugs in parties hosted by them and related financial transactions.

The central agency had registered a case in May and pressed charges under the PMLA after taking cognisance of two police FIRs and a charge sheet filed against Elvish Yadav and linked persons by the Gautam Buddh Nagar (Noida) district police in Uttar Pradesh.

Elvish was arrested on March 17 by the Noida police in connection with its probe into suspected use of snake venom as a recreational drug in parties that were allegedly hosted by him.

The controversial YouTuber, also the winner of reality show Bigg Boss OTT 2, was booked under various sections of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, Wildlife Protection Act and the Indian Penal Code (IPC) by the Noida police.

Elvish was among the six people named in the FIR lodged at Noida's Sector 49 police station on November 3 last year on a complaint from a representative of animal rights NGO People for Animals (PFA).

Five other accused, all snake charmers, were arrested in November and they were later given bail by a local court.

These snake charmers were arrested from a banquet hall in Noida on November 3 last year and nine snakes, including five cobras, rescued from their possession, while 20 ml of suspected snake venom was also seized.

However, police had said Elvish was not present at the banquet hall and they were probing his role in the case that allegedly involved the use of snake venom as a recreational drug.

In April, the Noida police filed an over 1,200-page charge sheet in the case. The charges included snake trafficking, use of psychotropic substances and organising rave parties, police had said.