ED probes into funding of ‘Liger’ movie, questions actor Vijay Deverakonda

The Enforcement Directorate has lodged a money laundering case in connection with the funding of movie ‘Liger’. The case was lodged on Wednesday under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act.

Telugu film actor Vijay Deverakonda was questioned by the Enforcement Directorate in Hyderabad in connection with a probe into funding of Liger. Summons have been issued by ED to Puri Jagannadh and Charmme, the makers of ‘Liger’.

Media reports said that the makers of the movie, which bombed at the box office, were questioned for almost 12 hours when they appeared before the ED on November 17, and were grilled over Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) violations.

Bakka Judson, Congress leader from Warangal, had lodged a complaint with ED wherein he alleged that several politicians invested in the movie. His complaint stated that the movie was made to turn black money into white.

ED suspects that foreign countries also invested crores of money in the film. Charmme and Jagannadh were asked to provide proof of the sources of income for Liger.

Liger was released on August 25 in five languages across the globe and garnered poor reviews and crashed miserably at the box office. The movie, made on a budget of Rs 120 crore, featured Vijay Deverakonda, Ananya Panday and Ramya Krishna in lead roles. Boxing legend Mike Tyson was roped in for an explosive cameo in the film. Liger marked Deverakonda’s Bollywood debut and was backed by Karan Johar’s Dharma Productions.

Liger received mostly negative reviews from critics as well as moviegoers. Bollywood critic Taran Adarsh had called the movie “OUTDATED” and had given Liger a rating of one and a half stars.

(With inputs from Munish Chandra Pandey)

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Also read: ED grills Liger’s director, co-producer for 12 hours: Report