ED summons actor Mahesh Babu in probe into ventures he endorsed

The actor’s involvement is being probed by ED because his endorsement had allegedly led several people to invest in the fraudulent ventures. While Babu might not have laundered money through the companies, he is being investigated for allegedly receiving laundered money from the companies, officials said.

The ED had started its probe based on cases filed by Telangana Police. As per Telangana Police, the two companies had defrauded scores of home buyers by offering plots which are unavailable and by registering plots over and over on names of multiple home buyers.

ED searches on April 16 had allegedly resulted in seizure of Rs 100 crore in allegedly dubious transactions. The documents seized in the searches indicated largescale fraudulent transactions.

According to Telangana Police, the ED took over the case because of the nature of the white collar criminal offence.

Mahesh Babu is a veteran actor who had entered the film industry in the late 1990s. His films Okkadu (2003), Athadu (2005), Pokkiri (2006) and recent releases including Saarileru Neekkevaru (2022) and Sarkaru Vari Patta (2022) have been box office hits.

The notices were served to Babu at his Hyderabad residence, sources said.