Hyderabad: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has registered an Enforcement Case Information Report (ECIR) against 29 celebrities, including actors, influencers, and YouTubers, from Telugu states for allegedly endorsing illegal betting applications.

The central agency's probe, initiated under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), is based on five First Information Reports (FIRs) filed across Telangana and Andhra Pradesh. These celebrities are suspected of violating the Public Gambling Act, 1867, by promoting platforms such as Junglee Rummy, A23, JeetWin, Parimatch, and Lotus365, with the ED suspecting large-scale money laundering through these paid promotions.

Prominent film actors named in the ECIR include Vijay Deverakonda, Rana Daggubati, Prakash Raj, Nidhi Agarwal, Pranitha Subhash, Manchu Lakshmi, and Ananya Nagella. The list also features TV personalities and social media influencers like Sreemukhi, Shyamala, Varshini Sounderajan, Vasanthi Krishnan, Shoba Shetty, Amrutha Chowdary, Nayani Pavani, Neha Pathan, Pandu, Padhmavathi, Harsha Sai, and Bayya Sunny Yadav.

Many of these individuals were previously booked by Hyderabad and Cyberabad police, with FIRs lodged at various police stations, including Panjagutta, Miyapur, Cyberabad, Suryapet, and Visakhapatnam. The ECIR has been booked under sections 318 (4) and 112 r/w 49 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), sections 3, 3 (A), and 4 of the Telangana Gaming Act, and section 66D of the IT Act 2000 and 2008.

In March, Cyberabad police had also booked Vijay Deverakonda, Rana Daggubati, and Prakash Raj for similar alleged promotions. While Deverakonda and Daggubati maintained they only endorsed legally permitted online skill-based games, Prakash Raj stated he did not renew a contract for an app promotion after 2017, upon realising its nature.

A case against six actors and 19 social media influencers was specifically registered at the Miyapur Police Station in Cyberabad Commissionerate in March, following a complaint from Phanidra Sharma, a local resident. Sharma alleged that the promotion of these betting apps by celebrities was detrimental to individuals and society, fostering addictive and risky financial behaviour.

With inputs from IANS