Jaganmohan money laundering case: ED attaches assets worth Rs 117.74 crore

In a setback to YSR Congress chief Jaganmohan Reddy, the Enforcement Directorate on Wednesday attached assets worth Rs 117.74 crore in connection with its money laundering probe. The recent development comes after the ED had attached assets worth over Rs 148 crore of Reddy in July for “illegally allotting 11,804.78 acres of land to companies of Nimmagadda Prasad in Prakasam and Guntur districts of Andhra Pradesh”.

The present case is related to companies of I Syam Prasad Reddy, Indu Projects, Embassy Property Developments and Vasantha Projects in the the Indu-APHB matter. “The ED has attached movable and immovable assets worth Rs 117.74 crore under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act of companies of I Syam Prasad Reddy, Indu Projects, Embassy Property Developments and Vasantha Projects in the the Indu-APHB case related to Y S Jaganmohan Reddy,” PTI quoted an ED official as saying.

Official sources said the ED’s zonal office in Hyderabad issued a provisional order for attachment of these properties under PMLA. The agency began its probe against the politician and his associates on the basis of a CBI FIR. The FIR has stated that since “May 2004, Jagan floated a number of companies wherein quid pro quo



investments have been 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”.

The July case pertained to alleged corruption and quid pro quo investment where Nimmagadda Prasad, various companies and individuals made “huge investments in companies floated by Reddy for the favours received from the erstwhile government of Andhra Pradesh…when late Y S Rajasekhara Reddy (Jagan’s father) was the Chief Minister.”

The ED had said its probe revealed that Prasad “paid bribe to Reddy in the form of investments at exorbitant premiums in his various companies to the tune of Rs 779.50 crore apart from making payment of Rs 57 crore to him in the guise of secondary purchase of shares and donation of Rs 7 crore to YSR Foundation”. In lieu of the aforesaid “quid pro quo payments” made by Prasad, it said, he was illegally favoured by the then Andhra government by awarding the project for the development of Vadarevu-Nizampatnam Port and Industrial Corridor (VANPIC) by “deviating” all standard norms and without examining the technical and financial capabilities.