AP Liquor Scam Case: Ambati Rambabu Appears Before ED In Hyderabad
Former Andhra Pradesh Irrigation Minister and YSRCP leader Ambati Rambabu was grilled by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Wednesday in connection with the Liquor Scam Case.
Hyderabad: Former Andhra Pradesh Irrigation Minister and YSRCP leader Ambati Rambabu was grilled by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Wednesday.
The YSRCP senior leader appeared for questioning at the ED's zonal office in Hyderabad, where officials recorded his statements over money laundering allegations in the AP liquor scam case.
The interrogation is part of an ongoing money laundering probe into an alleged Rs 195-crore liquor transport tender scam. The case stems from an FIR originally filed by the AP CID concerning structural modifications to liquor transport policy frameworks made during the previous YSRCP government's tenure.
Investigations point toward systematic tailoring of transportation tender contracts by the Andhra Pradesh State Beverages Corporation Limited (APSBCL) to benefit specific entities and siphon public funds.
The ED had initially issued notices to Rambabu earlier. However, he deferred appearing by presenting medical reports showing he had undergone heart stent placements. The agency subsequently issued definitive electronic and physical notices ordering his compliance to appear before them for November 4.
The agency's move comes almost nine months after it arrested Karumuri Sunil Kumar, son of former AP minister Karumuri Venkata Nageswara Rao, in connection with the alleged liquor transport irregularities case. He was arrested on June 18.
Earlier on June 11, ED's Hyderabad office conducted a search operation under the provisions of the PMLA at five premises in Hyderabad related to the case, covering the premises of Karumuri Sunil Kumar; his father; liquor scam kingpin Kessireddy Raja Shekhar Reddy, former IT advisor to the AP government; Dontireddy Vasudeva Reddy, former Managing Director of the Andhra Pradesh State Beverages Corporation Limited (APSBCL); Vijaya Narasimha Reddy; and Vallu Sandeep. In the operation, the agency also seized a luxury car, costly watches valued at Rs 94.5 lakh and unaccounted cash. Further incriminating documents, including suspicious joint venture agreements, unaccounted cash transactions, and property documents, were recovered and seized.
On the same day, ED had also arrested Kessireddy Raja Shekhar Reddy and Dontireddy Vasudeva Reddy in the case initiated based on an FIR registered by Andhra Pradesh CID based on a complaint of the Additional Secretary to Government of Andhra Pradesh (Vigilance), for loss to the Government exchequer to the tune of Rs 195.33 crore.