HYDERABAD: In a major development that created a flutter in the BRS, the ED has written to the CBI to inquire into allegations of illegal mining and irregularities in the management of granite companies in Karimnagar. According to sources, the ED informed the CBI that irregularities appear to have occurred in Swetha Granites and five other companies.
The other companies are: Swetha Agencies, Sri Venkateshwara Granites Pvt Ltd, PSR Granites Pvt Ltd, Arvind Granites and Giriraj Shipping Agencies Pvt Ltd. The CBI is likely to seek consent from the State government to commence its investigation as the general consent given to the central investigation agency was withdrawn in August last year. If the State government does not oblige, the CBI might move the Telangana High Court.
As most of the companies under the scanner of the CBI belong to close relatives of TRS hotshots, including Civil Supplies Minister Gangula Kamalakar, anxiety is building up in the party. The allegations against the companies include creation of fake documents for the exports made, fraudulent invoices and waybills for exporting granite to China and Hong Kong.
The ED requested the CBI to investigate the entire conspiracy of the companies who allegedly caused a loss of Rs 800 crore to the State exchequer in the form of seigniorage and the penalty imposed on failing to pay up.
It may be mentioned here that the ED conducted raids in the premises of these six granite companies and the residences of their directors at Karimnagar and Hyderabad in November last year. The ED also conducted searches in the residence of Kamalakar and also the office of Rajya Sabha member Vaddiraju Ravichandra in Hyderabad. The agency stated that it had unearthed evidence pertaining to FEMA violations and seized incriminating documents from the offices and residences of the directors.
The agency stated that the companies were exporting rough granite blocks to China, Hong Kong, SAR China and other countries. During the course of the inquiry, it was found that exported quantity was more than the quantity on which royalty was paid and there was underreporting of the quantity exported.
The ED has identified that in many instances, the export proceeds did not reflect in the declared bank accounts, thereby indicating that they were received through routes other than banking channels.
During the search action, the ED search teams found and seized unaccounted cash of `1.08 crore, allegedly received in hawala against exports, and also seized voluminous granite dispatch data of 10 years from the quarries.
During the search action, the ED search teams also found multiple benami bank accounts held in the name of employees of granite exporters, in which cash received against the illegal granite exports was being deposited.