On Wednesday, actor Vijay Deverakonda appeared before the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in Hyderabad’s Basheerbagh for questioning in an ongoing money laundering case. The interrogation pertains to the actor’s alleged association with illegal online betting and gambling platforms. The Kingdom actor was issued a summons by the organisation in July, instructing him to be present for questioning and to discuss his role in the celebrity-endorsed apps.
#WATCH | Hyderabad, Telangana: Actor Vijay Deverakonda appears before the Enforcement Directorate office in Basheerbagh, Hyderabad.
— ANI (@ANI) August 6, 2025
He was summoned by ED earlier regarding an online betting games promotion case. pic.twitter.com/miruSJ0iYb
Just last week, Tollywood fame Prakash Raj had appeared before the organisation in connection with the same matter. Raj clarified his stance through X (formerly Twitter), saying that he was associated with the betting app almost a decade ago, but has since stepped away. He also assumes that when the management of the apps shifted, the companies still used snippets of him in promotional content, which stopped after his team intervened and informed them that the contract had long expired.
Next up scheduled for questioning is Lakshmi Manchu, who is expected to appear before the ED on August 13. Rana Daggubati was also summoned for questioning on July 23, but sought deferment. The ED will record their statements under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
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.
ALSO READ | Illegal betting apps: ED summons Prakash Raj, Rana Daggubati, Vijay Deverakonda and Lakshmi Manchu
ED sources informed PTI that apps like Junglee Rummy, JeetWin, and Lotus365 were promoted by the above-mentioned celebrities. However, few reportedly claim to be oblivious to the functioning of betting apps and have washed their hands of any wrongdoing.
On the work front, Deverakonda recently appeared in Gowtam Tinnanuri’s Kingdom, currently running in theatres.
