The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has issued summons to four prominent Tollywood celebrities in the betting apps promotion case. It has sent summons to hero Vijay Deverakonda, Rana Daggubati, Prakash Raj and Manchu Lakshmi and asked them to appear for questioning.
It has directed Rana Daggubati to appear for questioning on 23rd of this month, Prakash Raj on 30th July, Vijay Deverakonda on 6th August and Manchu Lakshmi on 13th August. Sources said that summons will be issued to the other named persons also in the same case in a phased manner.
In this case, the ED has registered a case information report (ECIR) against a total of 29 actors, as well as content creators and social media influencers. The ED is investigating the case based on FIRs registered by the police in Panjagutta, Miyapur, Cyberabad and Visakhapatnam regarding illegal betting.
The ED has registered a case and taken up the investigation after allegations were received that money laundering and hawala transactions are being carried out through these betting apps. However, the investigating agency has alleged that Google and Meta are widely promoting such apps in their media.
The ED has stated that these tech companies are not only allocating slots for betting app advertisements but are also making website links available. The ED has stepped up its investigation into this case in the wake of allegations that large-scale money laundering and hawala transactions are being carried out through betting apps.
Meanwhile, social media influencers Neetu Agarwal, Vishnu Priya, Varshini, Siri Hanumanthu, Vasanthi Krishnan, Shobha Shetty, Amrutha Chowdhury, Nayani Pavani, Neha Pathan, Padmavati, Pandu, Imran Khan, Harsha Sai, Bayya Sunny Yadav, Tasty Teja, Bandaru Supreeta are also included in the list.
Along with these, the ED has also registered a case against some other YouTubers and social media influencers. It is known that the Panjagutta police have already questioned anchors Vishnu Priya, Ritu Chowdhury, Srimukhi, and Shyama in the betting app promotions case.
Notices have been issued to Google and Meta in the same case. There are allegations that tech companies are allocating slots for betting app advertisements and making website links available.
