Actress Urvashi Rautela appeared before the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Tuesday in connection with a money laundering case linked to the online betting platform 1xBet, for which she serves as the India ambassador. The questioning is part of a broader investigation into how endorsement fees from the platform were allegedly used to acquire assets now classified as “proceeds of crime.”
1xBet is registered in Curacao, and Rautela’s statement is being recorded under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). This forms part of the ED’s extensive probe into celebrity involvement with the platform.
Rautela, known for films like Sanam Re, Great Grand Masti, and Hate Story 4, joins several high-profile personalities already questioned in the case. Earlier, actor Sonu Sood and cricketers like Yuvraj Singh, Suresh Raina, Robin Uthappa, and Shikhar Dhawan appeared before the agency. Even online influencers have been called in, reflecting the wide scope of the investigation.
The ED is examining how endorsement payments were possibly diverted to buy assets, amid the Indian government’s recent ban on real-money online gaming. Reports suggest around 22 crore Indians used such apps before the ban, with nearly half as regular users.
Urvashi Rautela was last seen in the special dance number Touch Kiya from Sunny Deol’s film Jaat and is also slated to appear in Akshay Kumar’s Welcome To The Jungle. Her appearance before the ED marks a significant development in the ongoing crackdown on celebrity-linked betting platforms.
