MUMBAI, Sept. 24 -- Nearly two years after he allegedly slipped out of India as investigators began unravelling a Rs.198.41-crore money-laundering network routed through two Malegaon-based banks, Mehmood Abdul Samad Bhagad, described by a special court as the "ultimate beneficiary" of the scam, has finally been located. Interpol informed the Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) this week that Bhagad had been arrested in the United Arab Emirates, and on Wednesday a special court cleared the way for India to formally seek his extradition. Additional sessions judge S V Sahare allowed an application moved by the ATS for an extradition proposal to be sent to the UAE government to secure Bhagad's return to India for further investigation and trial. The court said that given the "grievous and serious offence" against him, his presence was required, and noted that the alleged scamster, absconding since the case was registered, had been the subject of an Interpol Red Corner Notice since February 2025. Bhagad alias 'Challenger King' is accused of masterminding a scheme in which more than a dozen bank accounts were opened in the names of individuals who were lured with false promises of jobs at Malegaon's Agriculture Produce Market Committee. These accounts were then used to route proceeds of illegal online betting and gaming operations into the formal banking system before the money was withdrawn, largely in cash. The case began on November 7, 2024, when the Malegaon Chawani police registered an FIR pertaining to transactions of more than Rs.112 crore credited into 14 newly opened NAMCO Bank accounts. The money had come from around 200 firms and companies within one to two months, after which most of it was transferred to other accounts through online banking channels. The Enforcement Directorate (ED) opened its own probe that month, eventually tracing the network to 14 NAMCO accounts and five accounts with the Bank of Maharashtra. The investigation was subsequently taken over by the ATS, which registered a separate offence in connection with the alleged laundering network. The prosecution told the Bombay high court last December that the money withdrawn from the shell companies' bank accounts was "likely to be used in criminal activities against the nation". "Therefore, the ATS has registered a separate offence," it said. According to the order, shell firms, including Hardik Enterprises and Haresh Trading Co, received crores of rupees from roughly 200 firms within months, while Rs.28.22 crore was withdrawn in cash from their Axis Bank accounts alone between October and November 2024....