The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Monday questioned actor and former Trinamool Congress MP Mimi Chakraborty in an app-linked money-laundering case, sources said.
“We recorded her statement under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) in a case related to an illegal betting app 1xBet. The former MP is understood to be linked to the app through certain endorsements and financial transactions,” said an ED official.
The ED is investigating multiple cases involving illegal betting apps that are alleged to have defrauded numerous people and investors of crores of rupees or evaded substantial amounts of taxes. Several actors, cricketers, and influencers who promoted these platforms are under scrutiny.
The agency had earlier questioned former cricketers Suresh Raina and Shikhar Dhawan, and actor Prakash Raj in connection with the promotion of illegal online betting and gambling apps.
The investigation has purportedly revealed that multiple laws were violated, including the Information Technology Act, the Foreign Exchange Management Act and the PMLA.
According to estimates by market analysis firms and probe agencies, online betting apps have about 22 crore Indian users, of whom about 11 crore are regular users. The online betting app market in India is worth over $100 billion, which is growing at the rate of 30 per cent, according to experts.
Recently, the Centre banned real-money online gaming through legislation. The government told Parliament that it had issued 1,524 orders from 2022 to June 2025 to block online betting and gambling platforms.
Sources said several celebrities were suspected of having “endorsed” online betting platforms, including Junglee Rummy, JeetWin, and Lotus365, in exchange for endorsement or celebrity fees.
The agency is also examining the financial transactions of the celebrities who have claimed they were unaware of the true nature of the platforms. The agency suspected they promoted the betting platforms through online pop-up advertisements.