Rs 148.89 crore assets belonging to YSR Congress leader Jagan Mohan Reddy and his associates was attached by the Enforcement Directorate on Friday. 11,804 acres of land in Andhra Pradesh were attached under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act.
'The ED attaches land worth Rs 148.89 crore in Andhra Pradesh under PMLA (Prevention of Money Laundering Act) of companies of Nimmagadda Prasad in Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy case. A provisional attachment order under the PMLA law has been issued,' said the ED.
Land in Prakasam and Guntur districts of Andhra Pradesh which are suspected to have been illegally allotted to companies of Nimmagadda Prasad were attached in a case involving Jagan Mohan Reddy.
The ED said that the attached land was part of a quid-pro-quo investment case where Prasad and other individuals made huge
investments in companies floated by Jagan Mohan Reddy. The investments were in exchange for favours received from the then Andhra Pradesh government in the form of land allotments for the development of port and industrial corridor, besides exemption under the Urban Land (Ceiling & Regulation) Act. The ED also claims that the land was allotted when Jagan's father YS Rajaeskhar Reddy was the Chief Minister of erstwhile Andhra Pradesh.
The ED began investigations against Jagan Mohan Reddy following an FIR by the CBI. The FIR stated that starting May 2004, Jagan floated a number of companies wherein quid pro quo investments were made by beneficiaries from decisions of the state government in various forms like SEZs (special economic zones), irrigation contracts, relaxation/permission for real estate ventures, mines among others.