The notices were said to be issued in the wake of the recent searches conducted by the ED on Sai Surya Developers and Surana Group

Hyderabad: The Enforcement Department (ED) has issued notices to Tollywood superstar Mahesh Babu. The notices were said to be issued in the wake of the recent searches conducted by the ED on Sai Surya Developers and Surana Group.

Mahesh Babu has endorsed the projects of this Hyderabad-based real estate group. It is said that the department has found that Sai Surya Developers allegedly paid Rs 5.9 crore to the star actor for promoting their projects. Of this, Rs 3.4 crore was reportedly paid through cheques and another Rs 2.5 crore in cash. Though the actor was not directly involved in this scam, the ED is investigating the money he received.

Recently, ED conducted raids on the offices of Surana Group and Sai Surya Developers. ED began its money laundering probe based on the complaint on Sai Surya Developers owner K Satish Chandra Gupta and Surana Group director Narendra Surana by the Telangana Police.

The owners of these real estate groups are accused of committing fraud such as selling plots in unauthorised layouts, selling the same plot to multiple people, and giving false registration guarantees, according to sources.

The ED suspects that these companies have made illegal transactions worth about Rs 100 crore. Sources believe that the money earned through fraudulent schemes was diverted to many people, and as part of this, film celebrities also took money for publicity.