ED charges YouTuber Elvish Yadav and singer Fazilpuriya with wildlife crime and money laundering

New Delhi, October 16 (IANS). The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has filed a charge sheet against YouTuber Elvish Yadav and singer Rahul Yadav alias Fazilpuriya in a money laundering case related to illegal use of protected wildlife in online content. Four accused were named in the charge sheet filed on October 13 in a special PMLA (Prevention of Money Laundering Act) court in Gurugram. Their names are Elvish Yadav (28), Fazilpuriya (35), Sky Digital India Private Limited and its director Gurkaran Singh Dhaliwal. The court has not yet formally taken cognizance of the complaint. According to the ED, Elvish Yadav allegedly earned Rs 84,000 from a 2023 YouTube video that showed live snakes and an iguana, a protected species under Indian wildlife laws. A video was uploaded on March 23, 2023. It was alleged that the provisions of the Wildlife Protection Act had been breached. Meanwhile, Fazilpuria is accused of making a music video titled ’32 Bores’, which also features protected reptiles. ED claims that he made illegal earnings of over Rs 50 lakh from the video. Sky Digital India, which managed and monetized Fazilpuria’s content, reportedly played a key role in distributing the videos for revenue generation. As part of the probe, the ED has provisionally attached Fazilpuria’s property worth Rs 50 lakh and a fixed deposit of Rs 84,000 belonging to Yadav in Uttar Pradesh’s Bijnor. The agency alleges that the two men used exotic animals, including snakes and iguanas, in their content to increase online popularity and income, which is a clear violation of wildlife conservation norms. The video was monetized by Sky Digital India and published on YouTube. Both Yadav and Fazilpuria were questioned at the ED’s Lucknow office. The case is related to FIRs filed by the Noida and Gurugram police, in which Yadav was earlier arrested by the Noida police. The ED’s charges are based on violations of PMLA, NDPS Act, Wildlife Protection Act and IPC. Yadav, who rose to fame after winning Bigg Boss OTT 2, may now face serious legal consequences that could overshadow his digital stardom. –IANS SCH/PSK