CHENNAI: P Harsha Reddy, son of Telangana revenue minister Srinivasa Reddy, personally collected four high-end luxury watches from an intermediary in Macau in January this year after payments for them were made by his accountant P Subramanyam using USDT (a form of cryptocurrency) and through hawala transactions, sources said citing evidence available with central agencies including Enforcement Directorate (ED).
The ED on Friday searched at least 16 places linked to the minister and his son, who is a director of the family-owned Raghava Constructions, across Telangana. Harsha has been identified as the buyer of the watches, sources said.
Mohammed Faherdeen Mubeen, a Chennai-based intermediary, had been allegedly tasked with buying seven luxury watches totally worth Rs 5 crore from a shop in Hong Kong by another intermediary and Vijaywada native Alokam Naveen Kumar on behalf of Harsha Reddy, intelligence sources said citing evidence in the ongoing investigation.
Harsha had allegedly bought the watches to be given as gifts in a family wedding, sources said. The watches he wanted to buy were Audemars Piguet, Patek Philippe and Rolex. Legal import of these watches attracts a customs duty in excess of 40%.
Mubeen was in the business of buying such luxury watches from a specific shop in Tsim Sha Tsui, a tourist hub in Hong Kong. He would later sell these watches, which are not available in India, to high-net-worth individuals (HNI), sources said.
Subramanyam allegedly made payments to the tune of Rs 5 crore through USDT and hawala money routed through Hyderabad and Mumbai for buying these watches, sources said.
Sources said Mubeen travelled from Hong Kong to Macau and handed over the four watches on January 25 to Harsha Reddy, who was there on a holiday with friends and relatives. There is digital evidence available to establish this, sources said, without divulging further details.
According to sources, Harsha Reddy and his relatives managed to bring these watches into India without declaring them to Customs at Hyderabad airport in a bid to evade payment of duty.
The case unravelled when one more luxury watch bought by Mubeen on Harsha’s behalf was seized by Chennai Customs on February 5. The watch was supposed to be collected by Naveen. Investigations led Customs to Naveen and later to Harsha Reddy, who was summoned and later appeared before the agency.
Apart from negotiating a good price for the watches, Naveen allegedly played an important role in coordinating these transactions and getting best possible rates for the watches and illegal money transfer as well, sources said. He is also under the ED's scanner in the case with crucial evidence pointing to his direct contact with Subramanyam.
Harsha Reddy had earlier denied any involvement in the case.