The
Enforcement
Directorate
has
filed
a
money
laundering
case
to
look
into
the
role
of
more
than
two
dozen
celebrities,
including
actors
like
Vijay
Deverakonda,
Rana
Daggubati
and
Prakash
Raj,
apart
from
some
social
media
influencers
and
YouTubers
in
Telangana
as
part
of
a
money
laundering
probe
against
certain
online
betting
platforms,
official
sources
said
on
Thursday.
ED
headquarters
in
New
Delhi.
Image
used
only
for
representation.
Photograph:
ANI
Photo
These
outlets
are
alleged
to
have
generated
‘illicit’
funds
worth
crores
of
rupees
through
illegal
betting
and
gambling,
the
sources
said.
The
federal
probe
agency
has
taken
cognisance
of
as
many
as
five
state
police
FIRs
to
book
its
case
under
the
Prevention
of
Money
Laundering
Act
(PMLA),
they
said.
About
29
celebrities,
including
Deverakonda,
Daggubati,
Manchu
Lakshmi,
Raj,
Nidhi
Agarwal,
Pranitha
Subhash,
Ananya
Nagalla,
TV
host
Srimukhi
apart
from
local
social
media
influencers
and
YouTubers
have
been
booked
in
the
ED
case.
These
celebrities
are
suspected
to
have
‘endorsed’
online
betting
apps
like
Junglee
Rummy,
JeetWin,
Lotus365
etc.
in
lieu
of
getting
celebrity
or
endorsement
fee,
the
sources
said.
Some
of
these
‘well
known’
persons,
the
sources
said,
have
earlier
stated
that
they
did
not
know
the
exact
functioning
of
the
apps
and
products
dished
out
by
them
and
claimed
they
did
not
associate
themselves
with
these
platforms
for
any
wrongdoing
or
illegal
activity
like
betting.
The
ED
is
expected
to
record
their
statements
in
the
coming
days
even
as
it
is
collecting
more
FIRs
and
looking
for
more
complainants
who
were
duped
or
cheated
by
these
betting
platforms.
A
comprehensive
investigation
is
underway
to
find
the
estimated
amount
of
the
‘proceeds
of
crime’
generated
by
these
apps
and
the
exact
role
of
the
celebrities.
Their
guilt
will
be
decided
following
recording
of
their
statements
and
version,
the
sources
said.