Hyderabad, July 10: The Enforcement Directorate has booked 29 celebrities in Telugu states for endorsing betting apps.

The central agency has filed an ECIR against 29 actors, influencers, and YouTubers for allegedly promoting illegal betting platforms, in violation of the Public Gambling Act, 1867.

The probe, under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, has been taken up based on five FIRs filed in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh.

Film actors Vijay Deverakonda, Rana Daggubati, Prakash Raj, Nidhi Agarwal, Pranitha Subhash and Manchu Lakshmi, and Ananya Nagella are among those who have been booked by the ED.

The names of TV actors, TV hosts and social media influencers like Sreemukhi, Shyamala, and Varshini Sounderajan, Vasanthi Krishnan, Shoba Shetty, Amrutha Chowdary, Nayani Pavani, Neha Pathan, Pandu, Padhmavathi, Harsha Sai and Bayya Sunny Yadav also figure in the list.

Most of these celebrities were earlier booked by the Hyderabad and Cyberabad Police. FIRs were registered against them at Panjagutta, Miyapur, Cyberabad, Suryapet, and Visakhapatnam police stations.

The ED suspects endorsements of platforms like Junglee Rummy, A23, JeetWin, Parimatch, Lotus365, and others involved laundering of large sums through paid promotions.

The ECIR has been booked under BNS sections 318 (4), 112 r/w 49, Telangana Gaming Act sections 3, 3 (A), 4, IT Act 2000 and 2008 section 66D.

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.

A case against six actors and 19 social media influencers was registered at the Miyapur Police Station of Cyberabad Commissionerate in March.

The police registered the case on a complaint by one Phanidra Sharma, a resident of Miyapur, who stated that he found several celebrities and social media influencers actively promoting illegal betting apps, websites and other platforms. The complainant said promotion of betting apps was causing harm to individuals and society by encouraging this addictive, short-term, risky money-making behaviour, leading to financial distress.

New Delhi, July 9: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has taken the custody of Monika Kapoor, an alleged economic offender, in the US and will bring her back to India, ending an over two-decade-long run from the law, officials said on Wednesday.

The development comes after Kapoor’s extradition from the US.

The CBI in a press release said the chase has ended after two decades “with the successful extradition of Fugitive Ms. Monika Kapoor, who is accused in a 2002 Import-Export fraud and was on run since then, from USA.”

According to the information provided by the Central agency, fugitive Monika Kapoor, Prop. of M/s Monika Overseas in conspiracy with her brothers, namely Rajan Khanna and Rajiv Khanna forged export documents viz. Shipping Bills, Invoices and Bank Certificates of Export and Realisation during the year 1998.

She obtained six Replenishment (Rep.) Licenses for the import of duty-free gold worth Rs 2.36 crore.

“In furtherance of the criminal conspiracy, they sold the said Rep. Licenses to M/s Deep Exports, Ahmedabad, on premium. M/s Deep Exports, Ahmedabad utilised the said licenses and imported duty-free gold, which caused a loss to the Government Exchequer to the extent of Rs 1.44 crore during the year 1998,” the press release mentioned.

The CBI, on the completion of the investigation, filed a charge sheet on March 31, 2004, against Monika Kapoor, Rajan Khanna, and Rajeev Khanna under sections 120-B r/w 420, 467, 468 and 471 of the IPC.

The Chief Metropolitan Magistrate, District Court Saket, New Delhi, vide order dated December 20, 2017, had convicted Rajan Khanna and Rajeev Khanna.

The CBI said the accused, Monika Kapoor, did not join the investigation and trial; she was declared a proclaimed offender by the trial court on February 13, 2006. The Ld. Trial Court had issued an open non-bailable warrant of arrest on April 26, 2010, and a Red Corner Notice was also issued against her.

A request for extradition was sent by the CBI on October 19, 2010, to the US authorities. Following intense coordination with authorities in the US, a CBI team travelled to the country to take custody of the fugitive.

This extradition marks a major breakthrough in the pursuit of justice and reiterates CBI’s commitment to bringing fugitives to face the law in India, irrespective of international boundaries.

The CBI team is returning to India with the fugitive. Monika Kapoor is being produced before the concerned court and will now face the trial.

The press release said that the CBI remains steadfast in its mission to combat economic crimes and will continue to pursue all legal avenues to ensure that the fugitives are brought to justice.

New York, July 9: US President Donald Trump doubled down on his threat to charge BRICS members an additional 10 per cent tariff and alleged that the group was “set up to degenerate our dollar”.

Speaking to reporters as he presided over a Cabinet meeting on Tuesday, Trump said: “Anybody that’s in BRICS is getting a 10 per cent charge” — and that would include India.

On another trade issue that could affect India, Trump said that a 200 per cent tariff on pharmaceuticals would come soon, but added he would “give people about a year, year and a half”.

“We’ll give them a certain period of time to get their act together,” he said about the pharmaceutical companies.

India’s pharmaceutical exports to the US last year was nearly $9 billion.

A reporter recalled that he had said Monday night that trade deal was coming with India soon and asked him about the applicability of the proposed BRICS tariff.

He said: “Anybody that’s in BRICS is getting a ten per cent charge. If they’re member of BRICS, they’re gonna have to pay per cent tariff just for that one thing, and they won’t be a member for long.”

India has opposed a BRICS currency for trade to compete with the dollar and exercised a virtual veto on the proposal.

Laying out India’s policy, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said in March: “I don’t think there’s any policy on our part to replace the dollar.”

Affirming the importance of the dollar to the world’s and India’s economy, he added: “At the end of the day, the dollar as the reserve currency is the source of international economic stability, and right now, what we want in the world is more economic stability, not less.”

The letter he sent to BRICS member South Africa on Monday said only that it would face a 30 per cent tariff starting next month, but made no mention of BRICS penalty.

Trump said the BRICS tariff would come “soon”.

Despite India’s so far successful efforts to stop the creation of a BRICS currency, Trump continued to complain about a BRICS conspiracy.

“BRICS was set up to hurt us. BRICS was set up to degenerate our dollar and take our dollar as the standard, take it off as the standard,” he said.

He said that he would oppose it because it would be like losing a war, he said.

“And that’s okay if they want to play that game, but I can play that game too,” he said.

He said he thought BRICS “largely broke up” with only a couple of countries hanging around.

“BRICS is not, in my opinion, a serious set-up,” he said.

But he said that they want to destroy the dollar “so that another country can take over and be the standard, and we’re not going to lose the standard”.

In fact, opposition from India to a BRICS currency is because of the threat of China manipulating it to its benefit.