Hyderabad: Popular Telugu actor Lakshmi Manchu appeared before the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Wednesday in connection with a money laundering investigation into the alleged promotion of illegal online betting and gambling applications.
She is the third Tollywood personality to be questioned in the case, following recent interrogations of Rana Daggubati and Vijay Deverakonda.
Case background
The investigation was initiated after an FIR filed in March 2024 at Miyapur Police Station, following a complaint from 32-year-old businessman PM Phanindra Sarma. In his statement, Sarma accused a string of Tollywood actors, TV personalities, and social media influencers of promoting betting apps that, he claims, cheated users and ran afoul of the Public Gambling Act, 1867.
Besides Lakshmi Manchu, the accused list includes Rana Daggubati, Prakash Raj, Vijay Deverakonda, Praneetha, Nidhi Agarwal, Ananya Nagella, and over a dozen others.
ED’s focus
According to investigators, the celebrities allegedly promoted these platforms via advertisements and social media campaigns, luring users to invest in what were effectively illegal gambling operations. Officials are probing whether payments to the actors were routed through hawala networks or other unlawful channels.
During Wednesday’s questioning, ED officials reportedly focused on the remuneration and commissions Manchu allegedly received for such promotions, seeking to trace the money trail and assess the extent of her involvement.
