HYDERABAD: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Wednesday questioned relatives of Telangana state minister Talasani Srinivas Yadav at its Basheerbagh office in connection with a casino money laundering case.
It has been alleged that the casino organiser, Chikoti Praveen Kumar, used several actors and celebrities to endorse casino activities, which were allegedly a front for hawala transactions.
The ED questioned Talasani Dharmendra and Talasani Mahesh Yadav, suspecting they were associated with Kumar and that they may have knowledge of the hawala transactions.
Before the questioning, notices were served to Dharmendra and Mahesh by the Central agency after it found records of financial transactions among the duo and the two accused, Praveen and a casino co-organiser Dasari Madhava Reddy.
The ED had raided the residences of the casino organisers, collected documents of bank transactions, procured bank statements and perused WhatsApp chats and call data.
A case was registered under the Foreign Exchange Management Act (Fema) in connection with the casino events. One particular event held in Nepal is under the scanner, while their activities in Goa are also being checked.
Sources in the ED said that the minister’s relatives may have been used to conduct hawala transactions, on the pretext of their participation in casino activities.
