In a fresh crackdown onYSR Congress party chief Jagan Mohan Reddy and his associates,the Enforcement Directorate today attached assets worth Rs143.74 crore in connection with its probe in the moneylaundering case against him.
The ED attachment order, under criminal provisions of thePrevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), comes in less thanfour months after the agency first issued two separateattachment orders of Rs 51 crore and Rs 71 crore respectivelyagainst the Kadapa Member of Parliament and others involved inthis disproportionate assets case.
The agency, according to agency sources, has few moresimilar orders in the pipeline as it plans to build a watertight case against Jagan and his associates.
Today's order has been issued against the Ramky group ofcompanies which the ED order alleges earned "proceeds ofcrime" by alleged illegal favours done by the then AndhraPradesh government and the firm gave kickbacks for favours byremitting illegal money in a firm owned by Jagan Reddy.
The case pertains to the tenure of Jagan's father andformer Chief Minister Y S Rajasekhara Reddy, who died in ahelicopter crash in 2009.
"Immovable properties and movable assets worth Rs 143.74crore under section 5(1) of PMLA are being attached. Theproperties attached are from Ms Ramky Pharma City (India)Limited are approximately 135.46 acres of land and deposit ofRs 3.20 crore in mutual funds and fixed deposits for Rs 10Crore from Jagati Publications Private Limited (held by JaganReddy)," the attachment order said.
The agency is probing the case on the basis of the FIRfiled by CBI to investigate alleged disproportionate assetsamassed by Jagan especially during the tenure of his father asCM.
During the course of investigation, the ED alleged, "It was revealed that Ms Ramky Pharma City (India) LTD illegallysold land falling in greenbelt area and acquired a sum of Rs133.74 crore. In lieu of the favour from the state governmentof Andhra Pradesh, A Ayodhya Rami Reddy, Chairman of Ms RamkyGroup paid a sum of Rs 10 crore in equity of Ms JagatiPublications Private LTD (a company owned and controlled byJagan Mohan Reddy).
"The payment of Rs 10 crore was kickback for the favoursdone by the state government. Thus, the investigation underPMLA has so far revealed that shareholders of Ms Ramky PharmaCity (India) LTD are Ms Ramky Infrastructure LTD, Ms RamkyEstates and Farms Limited and APIIC," it alleged.
The ED further said that "M/s Ramky Pharma City (India)LTD had sold the plots in non-SEZ area and leased out plots inSEZ area in the Pharma City named as Ms Jawahar Lal NehruPharma City. In the illegal sale and lease of land fallingunder the greenbelt area, by sale of 23 plots in non-SEZ areaand 8 plots in SEZ area the generation of proceeds of crimewas to the tune of Rs 133.74 crore.
"Ms Ramky Pharma City (India) LTD was illegally benefitedby this amount as a result of criminal activity. Furtherpayment of Rs 10 crore by Ramky Group of Companies to MsJagati Publications is the proceeds of crime which wastransferred as equity contribution in the company. Thus, totalamount of the proceeds of crime is Rs 143.74 crore," the EDalleged.
An ED attachment is an enforcement action underanti-money laundering laws to restrict the accused from takingbenefit out of the properties or assets they havecreated/earned through illegal means.
The accused parties can appeal against the order at theAdjudicating Authority of the PMLA based here.