VIJAYAWADA: Amid hue and cry raised by the ruling TDP in the State alleging witch-hunt by the Narendra Modi government through the Central investigation agencies, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) conducted raids on the offices of Sujana Group of Companies of Rajya Sabha member Y Satyanarayana Chowdary, popularly known as Sujana Chowdary, at eight different locations on Friday and Saturday in connection with a case related to defrauding banks. The ED officials said the banks were defrauded to the tune of `5,700 crore by Sujana Group.
The ED officials seized six luxury cars, including Ferrari, Range Rover and Benz, which were registered in the name of “dummy companies” from the residence of Sujana Chowdary. The MP has been issued summons to appear before the investigating agency on November 27.
The ED, Chennai, initiated investigation pertaining to three FIRs filed by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), Bengaluru, based on complaints from three banks stating that Best & Crompton Engineering Projects Ltd, Chennai (BCEPL), owned by Sujana Chowdary, caused a total loss of `364 crore to the consortium of banks (Central Bank of India – `133 crore, Andhra Bank – `71 crore and Corporation Bank – `159 crore) by obtaining loans from these banks through submission of false statements and accounts. The Enforcement Directorate is investigating the cases under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
The ED verification after seizure of documents revealed that BCEPL, along with other companies of the Group, are under the chairmanship of S Chowdary.
The ED found that all the directors of various Sujana Group of Companies act as per the instructions of S Chowdary. “Further, in their statements tendered under Section 50 of PMLA, the directors of BCEPL had inter alia stated that Sujana Chowdary is responsible for the entire activities of Sujana Group of Companies and they all acted/rendered their signatures on his insistence either directly or through CFO & CS and that they are namesake directors and as such they had no idea as to how the funds of BCEPL were utilised and that the entire operations/transactions of the companies are known only to key persons,’’ a release by ED said.
“In the wake of the statements made by the directors, searches were conducted at seven locations of the companies in Hyderabad and one in Delhi, which revealed that the banks were defrauded of `5,700 crore,’’ the release said.
The ED officials said the seized documents revealed various FEMA/DRI/CBI cases against the Sujana Group of Companies. Documents related to forex transactions were also seized from these locations. It also came to know that the group is controlling over 120 companies and most of them are non-operating or companies on paper only without any genuine business activities. It was also revealed that certain loans to the group of companies were sanctioned against the personal guarantee of Sujana Chowdary,’’ the ED said.
On October 8, searches were conducted at the residences and offices of the key officials of BCEPL in Chennai, Bengaluru and Hyderabad during which incriminating documents were seized. The ED officials then seized 126 rubber stamps of various shell companies from the BDEPL office at Nagarjuna Hills in Hyderabad. The ED also found that many companies of the Group accommodated on the premises.
While the searches were going on, reports emerged that Look Out Notices were issued against Sujana Chowdary.
In a release, Sujana Group condemned the false reports saying that the searches were conduced in connection with a decade-old case. “It is false that Look Out Notices were issued against the directors of Sujana Group. We also condemn the reports that our officials misbehaved with mediapersons during the searches,’’ the release said. The raids came at a time when the TDP government highlighted the issue of alleged witch-hunt by the Modi government through Central investigation agencies like I-T, CBI and ED against the ruling party leaders and their businesses at the national level.