ED Issues Fresh Summons to Google and Meta, Representatives Fail to Appear
New Delhi (The Uttam Hindu)- The Enforcement Directorate (ED) again summoned tech giants Google and Meta on July 21 in connection with promoting illegal online betting apps. Representatives of these two tech companies have been called for questioning at the ED headquarters on July 28 (Monday). Earlier, both these tech companies were called for questioning at the ED headquarters in Delhi on July 21, but they could not appear.
In such a situation, the ED again sent summons to both the companies and asked them to appear on July 28. Let us tell you that the ED's investigation is focused on those online betting apps which are allegedly involved in illegal gambling and money laundering. These include apps like Mahadev Betting App and Fairplay IPL. The ED alleges that Google and Meta promoted these illegal betting apps on their platforms through advertisements and helped widen their reach. The investigation found that these apps promote illegal betting in the name of skill-based gaming. Illegal earnings of crores of rupees were made through these platforms, which were hidden through hawala channels to avoid investigation.
The ED has alleged that the advertisements of these apps were prominently displayed on the platforms of Google and Meta, which increased their users. On July 10, the ED took action against 29 celebrities in this case. These included actors Vijay Deverakonda, Rana Daggubati, Prakash Raj, Nidhi Agarwal, Pranitha Subhash, Manchu Lakshmi and Ananya Nagella. Apart from this, the names of TV actors, hosts and social media influencers like Srimukhi, Shyamala, Varshini Soundararajan, Vasanti Krishnan, Shobha Shetty, Amrita Chaudhary, Nayani Pawani, Neha Pathan, Pandu, Padmavati, Harsha Sai and Bayya Sunny Yadav are also under investigation.
They are accused of promoting platforms like Junglee Rummy, A23, Jeetwin, Parimatch and Lotus365, which are involved in money laundering. The investigation is being conducted under the Public Gambling Act, 1867 and the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). The ED initiated this action on the basis of five FIRs registered in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh. In March, the Cyberabad police also registered a case against several celebrities including Vijay Deverakonda, Rana Daggubati and Prakash Raj for promoting illegal betting apps. However, these celebrities clarified that they were not promoting any illegal app. The ED is now investigating all these cases thoroughly and is preparing to take strict action against the culprits.