The Enforcement Directorate (ED), on Tuesday, questioned actor Neha Sharma as part of its ongoing investigation into suspected money laundering involving an online betting application. The ED had summoned the actress, who happens to be the daughter of Congress leader Ajit Sharma, asking for details about her association with the alleged platform.
Neha Sharma questioned by ED
According to PTI reports, officials said that Sharma’s statement was being recorded under provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). The investigators are scrutinising her involvement with the app through promotional activities. Notably, she has not commented publicly on the development so far.
Neha appeared before the Enforcement Directorate on Tuesday for questioning in a money laundering case linked to online betting platform 1xBet. She is believed to be linked to the betting platform by way of certain endorsements.
On the work front, Sharma is known for roles in films such as Yamla Pagla Deewana 2 (2013), Solo (2017) and Tanhaji (2020). She has also worked in the digital space, including series like Illegal. She has also featured in short films, including Kriti and Vikalp, wherein she played the central character.
Interestingly, the federal probe agency had earlier attached assets worth Rs 11.14 crore of former cricketers Shikhar Dhawan and Suresh Raina in the same case after they were questioned in a similar manner.
About the case
Registered in Curacao, 1xBet is stated by the portal to be a globally-recognised bookmaker with 18 years in the betting industry. 1xBet operated in India without authorisation and used surrogate branding and advertisements to target Indian users through social media, online videos, and print media, the ED said.
“Payments for endorsements were structured through layered transactions using foreign intermediaries to disguise the illegal source of funds,” the ED said.
The Union government recently brought a legislation to ban real money online gaming in India.
Apart from the two cricketers whose assets were attached, the ED also questioned sporting icons such as Yuvraj Singh and Robin Uthappa, actors Sonu Sood, Urvashi Rautela (Indian brand ambassador for 1xBet), Mimi Chakraborty (a former Trinamool Congress MP) and Ankush Hazra (Bengali actor), as part of this investigation.
(With inputs from PTI)
