ED attaches assets of YouTuber Elvish Yadav, Fazilpuriya in PMLA case

Lucknow: The Enforcement Directorate on Thursday said it has attached assets worth more than Rs 52 lakh of YouTuber Siddharth Yadav alias Elvish Yadav, his friend and singer Rahul Yadav alias Fazilpuriya and a company as part of a money laundering investigation.

A provisional order under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) has been issued to attach an agricultural land in Bijnor district of Uttar Pradesh and some bank deposits of the three entities, the ED said in a statement.

The total value of the assets is Rs 52.49 lakh.

The agency alleged that Elvish Yadav and Fazilpuriya "illegally used protected species of snakes, exotic animals, such as iguanas, in the production of commercial music video and vlogs for the purpose of increasing followers and generating money." "These music videos were given to Sky Digital India Pvt Ltd, and then the videos were uploaded to YouTube for generating revenue," it said.

It 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 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.