The Central Bureau of Investigation on Thursday registered a case against Central Board of Film Certification officials and three others following allegations of corruption raised by Tamil actor Vishal.

The actor on September 28 posted a video on X, alleging that he had to pay Rs 6.5 lakh bribe for the screening and certification of the Hindi version of his movie Mark Antony. Vishal alleged that he paid the money to two individuals named M Rajan and Jeeja Ramdas.

A day later, the Union Ministry of Information and Broadcasting said it has zero tolerance for corruption and told him that strict action would be taken against the guilty, reported The Indian Express.

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Rajan, Ramdas and another person identified as Merlin Menaga have been named as accused in the first information report. The authorities have not identified the Central Board of Film Certification personnel who have been booked in the case.

Officials said that Menaga demanded a bribe of Rs 7 lakh from Vishal in September, reported The Indian Express.

The parties finally agreed to a sum of Rs 6.54, which was deposited in the bank accounts of Rajan and Ramdas.

The central agency in a statement said that the certificate for Vishal’s movie had been issued after he paid the bribe.

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The money deposited in the two accounts was quickly withdrawn. “It is also alleged that in addition to the said amount, the said accused transferred Rs 20,000 from the account of a private company to his bank account as coordination fee for himself,” the statement said.

The Central Bureau of Investigation said that the premises of the accused persons were searched at four different places, including Mumbai.

The censor board also said that it has taken note of the allegations. It, however, said that film producers still choose to apply through intermediaries or agents even though there is an online certification system.

In a statement, the board cautioned filmmakers to “not deal with any intermediary or third-party agent”.