ED Frames Charges Against Saisree Engineers

Hyderabad: The Enforcement Directorate has framed charges against Saisree Engineers Pvt. Ltd. (SEPL) and others for defrauding a bank of Rs 7.51 crore. The ED said SEPL engaged in the layering of loan funds through its bank accounts. A part of the loan was siphoned off and withdrawn in cash and used for the personal benefit of SEPL directors.

The investigation revealed that SEPL received Rs 13.53 crore from Bharat Coking Coal Ltd., which it deposited in its current account held with Andhra Bank instead of its loan account with SBI.

The funds ought to have been used for repayment to the lender bank. SEPL engaged in a series of transactions to the personal accounts of Sagiraju Suryanarayana Raju and employees’ bank accounts, and repayment of other loans.

The ED had earlier attached three properties worth Rs 3.11 crore belonging to Suryanarayana Raju. The ED initiated the investigation on the basis of an FIR registered by the CBI, EOW, Chennai, against SEPL.

ED projects sheep scam size at Rs 1,000 cr

Hyderabad: The Enforcement Directorate (ED), after raids at eight locations in connection with the sheep purchase scam, estimated the loss to the exchequer at Rs 1,000 crore on a proportionate basis across all 33 districts.

Searches were carried out at the premises of G. Kalyan Kumar (OSD to the then minister Talasani Srinivas Yadav), as well as at the premises of beneficiaries and middlemen identified during the ED’s investigation.

In addition, the CAG’s Audit Report for the period ending March 2021 revealed several irregularities in the implementation of the scheme. These included non-maintenance of beneficiary-wise details, improper records of invoices related to transportation and payments, payments made against invoices containing fake, passenger vehicle, or non-transport vehicle registration numbers, duplicate tags allotted to sheep units, and sheep units allotted to deceased or non-existent persons.

The audit report was limited to seven districts, in which the estimated loss was pegged at Rs 253.93 crore. On a proportionate basis for all 33 districts, the loss is likely to exceed Rs 1,000 crore, the ED observed.

The ED investigation revealed that substantial funds were transferred to the bank accounts of several individuals and entities as payments purportedly made for the supply of sheep. The ED found that these beneficiaries had no prior involvement in the sheep business before the launch of the scheme. It was found that no actual sale or purchase of sheep had taken place by these recipients.

The investigation revealed that government funds were illegally diverted to the bank accounts of bogus vendors. The ED’s findings substantiated the audit observations, which had identified payments made to fictitious vendors and evidence of recycled sheep units being fraudulently shown as new to claim disbursements from government funds.

The search operations led to the seizure of evidence indicating illegal payments in the form of kickbacks to government officials and others. Documents related to numerous bank accounts — including blank cheque books, passbooks, and debit cards associated with over 200 suspected dummy or mule accounts linked to an illegal online betting application — were recovered from one of the premises. The searches also led to the seizure of 31 used mobile phones and over 20 SIM cards, suspected of having been used in the operation of these illegal activities.

ED attaches 12 properties in Falcon scam

Hyderabad: The Enforcement Directorate attached 12 immovable properties worth Rs 18.14 crore in the Falcon scam case under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002. The properties were registered in the names of Amardeep Kumar, his family members, Rhett Healthcare Pvt. Ltd., and Rhett Herbal Pvt. Ltd.

Earlier, the ED had seized a private ‘Hawker 800A’ jet which was purchased by Amardeep Kumar reportedly using the scam cash.

The ED initiated its investigation against Capital Protection Force Pvt. Ltd. and its promoter Amardeep Kumar based on three FIRs registered by the Economic Offences Wing, Cyberabad, where both the entities were alleged to have cheated gullible investors under the pretext of offering high returns on their investments.

ED files charges against ex-CPWD officer

Hyderabad: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has filed charges against former Central government official P. Sai Komareswar and his wife P. Padmavathi for possessing assets worth Rs 1.26 crore in excess of known sources of his income.

The ED initiated its investigation based on a chargesheet filed by the ACB and the CBI.

Komareswar, while serving as an executive engineer (Electrical) in the Central Public Works Department (CPWD), Hyderabad, was involved in a trap case on allegations of demanding and accepting bribes from a contractor for clearing bills.

During the ACB-CBI searches at his residence, several documents, Rs 30.5 lakh in cash, and a locker key were seized.

The ED investigation revealed that the couple had acquired four immovable properties in quick succession, with part-payments for two of the properties made in cash and through unsecured loans allegedly obtained from various individuals. These so-called loans were not repaid for over five to six years, despite the couple possessing liquid assets, including investments in the share market worth approximately Rs 1.39 crore.

The agency also found that the couple failed to provide any justification for the cash seized from their premises or credible details regarding the individuals from whom the unsecured loans were allegedly obtained. The investigation revealed that the illicit money was routed back into the banking system by projecting it as untainted funds and was subsequently used for acquiring properties.