Prakash Raj appears before ED in connection with betting app case

Senior actor Prakash Raj appeared before the Enforcement Directorate (ED) to record his statement in connection with the betting app case on Wednesday. The ED, which had recently issued notices to film personalities who promoted betting apps, has also sent notices to Prakash Raj asking him to appear before the investigation team. The actor arrived at the ED office in Basheerbagh.

It may be noted that the actor who had earlier acted in an advertisement related to the betting app – ‘Jungle Rummy’ was booked by the Cyberabad police for promoting betting. The ED had started a parallel investigation into the matter based on the FIR. There are allegations that many people were attracted by the promotion of betting apps by film personalities and incurred huge financial losses, and some even ended their lives.

The ED has sent notices to 36 film personalities so far. Rana Daggubati was summoned to appear on July 23. However, he sought permission to reappear later. The ED has also sent notices to Manchu Lakshmi to appear for the investigation on August 13.

In March, Vijay Deverakonda, Rana Daggubati, Prakash Raj and others were booked by Cyberabad police for allegedly promoting betting apps. They, however, clarified that they are not promoting any illegal app. While Rana Daggubati and Vijay Devarakonda stated that they endorsed only legally permitted online skill-based games, Prakash Raj said he did not renew a contract to promote an app in 2017 after realising that he should not have done it.

(Apart from the headline, the copy is not edited by DNA staff, and is published from ANI)