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Hyderabad:

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Wednesday conducted raids at eight locations in Hyderabad and Andhra Pradesh against the organizers and agents of casinos for violation of Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) rules.

Officials said the central agency also probed the alleged hawala transactions.

"The raids were conducted at eight places under the provisions of FEMA," an official said without giving details. Special flights were arranged and the winners were paid through hawala transactions.

Casino organizers Twitch Praveen and Madhav Reddy claim that they do casino business following the law.

The Enforcement Directorate got its attention because of the huge amount paid to the actors for the casino advertisement.

Enforcement Directorate sources say that major transactions may have been done through hawala.

The duo allegedly made casino bets on behalf of Indians at Hotel Mechi Crown in Nepal.

Praveen allegedly charged between Rs 5 lakh and Rs 10 lakh for the alleged "four-day package".

Most of the customers are from Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.

The Enforcement Directorate came to know about the alleged money laundering between June 10 and 13.

After scanning WhatsApp chats and Praveen's laptop, investigators found that three ministers, 15 MLAs and 250 other customers, including some gold traders, were involved in playing the casino.

Former Andhra Pradesh minister Balineni Srinivas Reddy has said that he goes to casinos and has even confessed to gambling and playing cards.

But Praveen denied any connection with him or his alleged hawala deal.

Telangana Labor Minister Malla Reddy, who runs several engineering and medical colleges, has said that he does not know how an MLA sticker allotted to him appeared on the car of casino organizer Madhav Reddy. has done.

The casino organizers allegedly took their VIP customers to Goa, Nepal and Indonesia, and charged fees between Rs 5 lakh and Rs 15 lakh. 

Investigators have said that the names of actors promoting Praveen's casino events are in his mobile phone.

Praveen has also shared his pictures with politicians and actors.

The forest department also raided Praveen's farmhouse in Kadthal, Telangana.

During this it was seen whether he had kept any endangered or protected animals in his house.

Because she has posted pictures with many repetitions on her Instagram handle.

Officials said they found dozens of exotic animals at his farmhouse.


The investigating agency has called both Praveen and his associate Reddy for questioning on Monday.