Hyderabad: AP CID officials on Friday informed the Hyderabad High Court that the directors of Agri Gold Group of Companies have revealed during custodial interrogation that they had 70 more properties under benami names.
A division bench comprising acting Chief Justice Dilip B. Bhosale and Justice S.V. Bhatt was hearing a petition by the Telangana Agri Gold Customers and Agents’ Welfare Association, represented by its president A. Ramesh Babu, seeking probe either by the CBI or the Enforcement Directorate into the Agri Gold deposits scam.
Additional advocate-general of AP Dammalapati Srinivas submitted that after their arrest, the chairman and directors of the company revealed details during the custodial interrogation of 70 new properties which are under benami names other than properties attached so far. He said that during the probe it was revealed that the management had diverted Rs 10 crore of deposits.
The bench said, “Since the beginning of the case, we are insisting on the arrest of the directors. But the probing agency has dodged the case. Had the accused been arrested immediately, there would have been a chance of unearthing several properties and money allegedly diverted by the management.”
Observing that the chairman of the company has cheated the court by concealing the details of properties, the bench pointed out that Rs 10 crore was a small amount and suspected diversion of huge amounts.
Mr Srinivas said that several depositors lodged cases against the company following the bouncing of cheques issued for repayment of Rs 700 crore.
Warning the company management of severe consequences for concealing the property details, the bench said that even now they had an opportunity to disclose the details voluntarily.
The bench ordered the AP government to immediately seize the 70 newly-identified properties of Agri Gold and issue the notification within a day or two.
The bench directed the CID to find out whether funds were diverted through benami names or through suitcase companies. The bench adjourned the hearing for two weeks.
The Hyderabad High Court on Friday directed the TS CID to take immediate steps to arrest the directors of Akshaya Gold Company.
A division Bench comp-rising acting Chief Justice Dilip B. Bhosale and Justice S.V. Bhatt was dealing with a PIL by the AP Akshaya Gold Customers and Agents Welfare Association, represented by its president V.S.S. Purnachandra Rao of Guntur district. The association had urged the court to appoint a committee headed by a retired judge of the HC on the lines of the Agri Gold Company case for repayment to the aggrieved depositors.
Counsel for the petitioner, I.V. Radhakrishna Murthy, said that it was another scam like Agri Gold and the company had collected Rs 600 crore from depositors in both states.
While making it clear that no one could stop the TS CID from arresting the accused in the Akshaya Gold case, the Bench said if the CID delayed arrests it would result in what happened in the Agri Gold case.
The Bench asked CID authorities of both states to oppose bail petitions of the accused in lower courts duly informing that the High Court was monitoring the investigation.
AP additional advocate-general D. Srinivas submitted that 19 cases had been registered in the Akshaya Gold fraud against 28 accused in 2012. Till date 10 of them had been arrested and the remaining 18 had obtained anticipatory bail.
Some of the accused had also got bail from the High Court. Also, when the CID seized bank accounts of the company along with Rs 40 crore deposits, the management had succeeded in getting orders from the High Court to operate the accounts and had subsequently withdrawn Rs 32 crore.
When TS special counsel Sharath Kumar submitted that eight cases were registered against the company, the Bench told him to take immediate steps to arrest the accused otherwise it would order a CBI probe.
Dhanunjay, counsel for Akshaya Gold, said that the old management was responsible for the irregularities. A new management had taken over and the company had 2,500 acre of land, he said.
When the Bench sought to know the value of the land, Mr Dammalapati said that it would fetch only Rs 40 crore if sold, but the company had to repay Rs 329 crore.
While asking CID authorities of both states to exchange information in the case, the Bench directed them to place all the case records except the case diary before it within two weeks.
