HYDERABAD: Enforcement Directorate (ED) has attached assets worth over Rs 232 crore in connection with its money laundering probe against YSR Congress chief Jagan Mohan Reddy and former BCCI top boss N Srinivasan in the alleged quid—pro—quo and illegal investments case between the business entities of the two and few others.
The agency has registered a criminal case under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) to probe alleged bribes paid by Srinivasan, also the Managing Director of Ms India Cements Limited, to Reddy as "quid-pro-quo for undue favours received by his company from the government of Andhra Pradesh" when Jagan's father YS Rajasekhara Reddy was the state Chief Minister.
ED, in the latest order, attached a number of land plots of Ms Janani Infrastructure Limited (firm owned by Jagan) and those of India Cements in Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka along with fixed deposits and shares.
The investigating agency, sources said, has gone through the CBI FIR and charge sheet filed in this case earlier. Both ED and CBI are probing this case and others associated with Jagan, parallely for over three years now.
"The total value of attached assets is Rs 232.38 crore," the order, issued late yesterday evening by the zonal office of the agency here, said.
The agency's probe found, according to the attachment order, that firms of the accused like Ms Carmel Asia Holdings Private Limited, Ms Jagati Publication Limited, Ms Bharati Cement Corporation Private Limited and Ms Indian Cements Limited which "laundered the proceeds of crime in the form of investments."
The CBI charge sheet in this case, filed in 2013, said India Cements made alleged quid-pro-quo investments to the tune of Rs 140 crore into Jagan-owned companies and consequent "undue" benefits were received by the firm in allocation of land and water from rivers Krishna and Kagna from the then Andhra Pradesh Government led by his Chief Minister father.
ED has already attached assets worth over Rs 1,000 crore in the overall PMLA cases it is probing against Jagan, senior government officials of Andhra Pradesh and businessmen.
An attachment order under PMLA can be challenged at the Adjudicating Authority of the Act within 180 days and the action is aimed at depriving the accused from deriving gains from his or her illegally acquired wealth.