Hyderabad, Oct. 23 -- The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Friday, October 23, conducted simultaneous searches at 15 locations in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, including Hyderabad and Vijayawada, as part of an investigation into alleged online betting and fraudulent investment app networks.

The searches were carried out under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) following an FIR registered by the Pune Cyber Crime police in Maharashtra. The agency is examining the alleged role of inter-state networks accused of luring people with promises of high returns and collecting hundreds of crores of rupees.

The searches in the two Telugu States followed searches conducted by the ED last week in Delhi, Mumbai and Gurugram, during which inv...