ED to probe casino kingpin’s hawala deal during polls
It came to light on Friday that one Sampath, who is in the transport business, is a close associate of Praveen in illegal activities
HYDERABAD: Casino organiser Chikoti Praveen Kumar, who allegedly maintained links with political leaders, Tollywood and Bollywood actors for organising his casino business, helped political leaders in transporting huge unaccounted cash through hawala during the elections, according to sources.
A day after the Enforcement Directorate (ED) officials served notices to Praveen asking him to appear before the agency officials for questioning on Monday, the agency started tracking his illegal activities with technical evidence.
It came to light on Friday that one Sampath, who is in the transport business, is a close associate of Praveen in his alleged illegal activities. Sources said the investigation agency, which obtained proper evidence in connection with Praveen's illegal activities especially hawala transactions of unaccounted cash, is likely to serve notices on certain Tollywood actors, apart from political leaders from Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.
The agency officials are understood to have verified four bank account details of the accused and his transactions. It was revealed that the casino organiser, with the assistance of his close associate Sampath, got good connections with politicos and film actors for organising casinos at different places.
It was also reported that Praveen spent huge money on purchasing valuable gifts to present to VVIPs including IPS officers in both Telugu states. "Based on call data of Praveen, the agency received information about persons who were in regular touch with the accused. Interestingly, some of their mobile numbers were unanswered and switched off," sources said.
The investigation agency also obtained details of birthday celebrations of Praveen who spent huge money by inviting political leaders. The agency is likely to approach several airline offices in getting a list of passengers who travelled by flights to different countries from Hyderabad, Mumbai, Chennai, Goa and other places abroad to attend casino events. Praveen also booked travel facilities for his customers, it is learnt.