Contract to Promote a Questionable App
In March, the Cyberabad police filed a case against Prakash Raj and other actors for promoting a betting app. Prakash Raj subsequently clarified that he had signed a contract to promote an app in 2017 but discontinued the promotion after realising it was inappropriate.Further Inquiries with Other Actors
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) is now also investigating this case. Recently, the ED summoned several other prominent actors for questioning. These include actors Rana Daggubati, Vijay Deverakonda, Lakshmi Manchu, and Ananya Nagalla. Rana Daggubati was scheduled to appear on July 23rd but requested a date change. Vijay Deverakonda has been summoned on August 6th, and Lakshmi Manchu on August 13th. A total of 29 celebrities are under investigation by the ED for allegedly promoting illegal betting platforms. This includes TV actors, TV hosts, and social media influencers such as Sri Mukhi, Shyamala, Varshaini Sundarrajan, Vasanthi Krishnan, Shobha Shetty, Amrita Choudhary, Nayani Pavani, Padmavathi, Harsh Sai, and many others.
Cases Filed Across Multiple Police Stations
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) is investigating this matter under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). The investigation is based on five FIRs filed in different police stations across Telangana and Andhra Pradesh: Panjagutta, Miyapur, Cyberabad, Suryapet, and Visakhapatnam. The ED suspects that large sums of money were laundered through the promotion of illegal online betting platforms such as Junglee Rummy, A23, JeetWin, Parimatch, and Lotus 365. Earlier, when the Hyderabad and Cyberabad police questioned some actors, they stated that they had done nothing wrong and had cancelled the promotion contracts due to ethical concerns. However, the ED is taking this matter seriously and conducting a thorough investigation.
