The Enforcement Directorate has filed a chargesheet against YouTuber Siddharth Yadav alias Elvish Yadav, his friend and singer Rahul Yadav alias Fazilpuriya apart from two others, and charged them with money laundering in an alleged wildlife crime involving protected snakes and lizards, official sources said.
The prosecution complaint was filed on October 13 before a special Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) court in Gurugram, Haryana.
The court is yet to take cognisance of the chargesheet.
Yadav (28), Fazilpuriya (35), a company named Sky Digital India Pvt. Ltd. and its director Gurkaran Singh Dhaliwal have been named as the accused in the chargesheet, the sources told PTI.
Yadav has been accused of generating, acquiring, and possessing proceeds of crime worth Rs 84,000 from the monetisation of an "offending" video uploaded in 2023 that depicted live snakes and an iguana (a protected species of lizard).
Fazilpuriya has been charged for the same offence as it was found during investigation that he was the creator and owner of a music video named '32 BORE' in which protected wildlife species (snakes and an iguana) were used in contravention of Section 51 of the Wild Life Protection Act.
The agency has 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 then uploaded to YouTube for generating revenue," it said.
Both Elvish and Fazilpuriya have been questioned by the federal agency at its zonal Lucknow office. The central agency had registered a case in May and pressed charges under the PMLA after taking cognisance of two police FIRs and a chargesheet filed against Elvish and linked persons by the Gautam Buddh Nagar (Noida) district police in Uttar Pradesh and the other by the Gurugram Police. Elvish was attested by the Noida Police earlier.
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 police.
(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
You’ve reached your limit of {{free_limit}} free articles this month.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
Already subscribed? Log in
Subscribe to read the full story →
Smart Quarterly
₹900
3 Months
₹300/Month
Smart Essential
₹2,700
1 Year
₹225/Month
Super Saver
₹3,900
2 Years
₹162/Month
Renews automatically, cancel anytime
Here’s what’s included in our digital subscription plans
Exclusive premium stories online
Over 30 premium stories daily, handpicked by our editors


Complimentary Access to The New York Times
News, Games, Cooking, Audio, Wirecutter & The Athletic
Business Standard Epaper
Digital replica of our daily newspaper — with options to read, save, and share


Curated Newsletters
Insights on markets, finance, politics, tech, and more delivered to your inbox
Market Analysis & Investment Insights
In-depth market analysis & insights with access to The Smart Investor


Archives
Repository of articles and publications dating back to 1997
Ad-free Reading
Uninterrupted reading experience with no advertisements


Seamless Access Across All Devices
Access Business Standard across devices — mobile, tablet, or PC, via web or app
)