Prakash Raj appears before ED in illegal betting apps case

On Wednesday, Tollywood actor Prakash Raj appeared before the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in Hyderabad’s Basheerbagh for questioning in a money laundering case linked to illegal online betting and gambling applications. The actor was issued a summons by the organisation earlier this month.

Raj is not the only one who has come under the scrutiny of authority. Rana Daggubati, Vijay Deverakonda, and Lakshmi Manchu are just among a few celebrities who have been asked to appear before the ED for allegedly promoting illegal betting apps.

Daggubati was asked to appear for questioning on July 23 but sought deferment of the summons. He will face the ED on August 11. Deverakonda and Manchu will face the heat on August 6 and August 13, respectively. The ED will record their statements under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).

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Other celebrities named in the case include Nidhi Agarwal, Pranitha Subhash, Ananya Nagalla, Varshini Sounderajan, Vasanthi Krishnan, Siri Hanumanth, Sreemukhi, Shobha Shetty, Reethu Chowdhary, Nayani Pavani, Padmavati, Imran Khan, Neha Pathan, Vishnu Priya, Bhaiyya Sunny Yadav, Harsha Sai, Tasty Teja, Amrutha Chowdhary, and Bandaru Seshayani Supreetha.

ED sources informed PTI that these individuals are suspected to have "endorsed" online betting apps like Junglee Rummy, JeetWin, Lotus365, etc, for a celebrity or endorsement fee. The source further informed that these platforms have allegedly minted crores of rupees by generating illicit funds through illegal betting and gambling apps.

Few celebrities reportedly claim to be oblivious to the functioning of betting apps and have washed their hands of any wrongdoing. 

Entertainment