VIJAYAWADA: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has attached 27 immovable properties of Nimmagadda Ramakrishna, managing director of M/s Venus Aqua Foods Limited, and directors of the company, under the provisions of Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002, in a case related to a loan fraud. “An amount of Rs 1.72 crore, part of the amount acquired by defrauding a bank, was diverted for production of Telugu movie Aakasame Haddu,” the ED said.
The ED attached properties—in the names of Nimmagadda Ramakrishna, Nimmagadda Venugopal, VVNK Viswanath, their family members and associates—worth Rs 11.05 crore (current market value Rs 33.39 crore)in a pisciculture bank loan fraud case, an official release said. The attached assets are located in and around Hyderabad and Vijayawada.
The ED initiated its probe based on a case filed by the Central Bureau of Investigation, Bengaluru against Ramakrishna and directors of Venus Aqua Foods Limited for defrauding Union Bank of India (erstwhile Andhra Bank), Gudivada branch to the tune of Rs 36.97 crore.
The ED said Venus Aqua had availed Rs 19.44 crore fish tank loans from the branch by furnishing fabricated documents, including fake lease documents for 470 acres of fish farms. The funds were diverted and not repaid, causing a loss of Rs 36.97 crore to the bank.
The ED probe revealed that the accused also availed fish tank loans to the tune of Rs 22.64 crore in the names of 54 individuals. “The loans were taken on the pretext of pisciculture, but instead the money was siphoned off and diverted to the main accused, who in turn used it to introduce share capital in M/s VAFL, which helped the company to borrow more. Part of the loan funds were also used to acquire immovable properties in the names of Ramakrishna, Venugopal, Viswanath and their family members...’’ the ED said. All the funds have become NPAs and these assets have been provisionally attached under the PMLA, the ED informed.