Recently, there were reports about a popular actor-producer from the Malayalam industry paying a fine of Rs 25 cr to the Enforcement Directorate (ED) after he was found guilty of money laundering and involvement in illegal transactions from foreign sources to produce propaganda films. While a section of the media hadn't named the person, some alleged that it was Prithviraj Sukumaran, who was found guilty by the ED. The actor has now come out with a statement refuting the allegations and calling out the unethical journalism behind it.
In the statement, he has written, "The allegations are devoid of any truth, are malicious, and defamatory. I usually tend to ignore these because terms like 'ethical journalism' are fast becoming redundant in the times we live in. But there is a limit to propagating absolute lies in the name of 'news'."
Prithviraj also mentioned that he is planning to initiate legal proceedings against Marunadan Malayali, the channel that first published the news. "This is a fight I intend to see through to the end. Filing civil and criminal defamation charges."
He also requested the media to ensure that any further reporting on the allegations are done only after the facts are verified and confirmed.
