A luxury wedding at Udaipur’s Taj Aravalli Resort has come under the Enforcement Directorate’s lens after officials discovered that more than Rs 1 crore spent on the November 2024 event was funnelled through the bank account of a Rapido bike rider who had no connection to the couple.

The wedding, linked to Gujarat youth political figure Aditya Zula and held in November, has now come under scrutiny after investigators questioned the origin of the funds used for the opulent celebrations.

What triggered the ED’s interest?

While probing the 1xBet illegal betting racket, the ED discovered that the rider’s bank account had received an astonishing Rs 331.36 crore in deposits between August 2024 and April 2025. According to officials, more than Rs 1 crore from this account was allegedly used to cover expenses for the Udaipur wedding, even though the driver had no link to either the bride or groom.

Was the account being used as a mule?

Investigators say the account appeared to operate as a mule account, receiving money from several unidentified sources and transferring it almost immediately to other suspicious accounts. They believe the use of a third-party account was likely intended to disguise the true source of the funds and evade financial scrutiny.

What are officials saying about this pattern?

The extraordinary scale of the deposits and the misuse of a low-income worker’s account have left investigators shocked. A senior ED official warned that such patterns are now increasingly common, observing that many individuals “hand over their account access thinking it’s harmless, only to later face legal consequences when the account is used to move proceeds of crime.”

The official noted that this case shows how mule accounts are being used to finance grand weddings and other high-value events, turning ordinary people into the face of illicit financial activity without their knowledge.

What advisory has the ED issued to the public?

The ED has released a detailed caution urging people to protect their financial identity. The advisory states:

  • Never share bank account details, debit or credit cards, UPI, or net-banking access.
  • Do not sign cheques or financial documents for unknown persons.
  • Report any unusual deposits, withdrawals, or attempts to misuse your account.
  • Be cautious of people offering money to use your financial identity.
  • Verify mobile numbers issued in your name at the government portal tafcop.sancharsaathi.gov.in and deactivate numbers you do not use.