Funds meant for housing project diverted to personal accounts, says Enforcement Directorate
Hyderabad: The Enforcement Directorate (ED), Hyderabad Zonal Office, has attached movable and immovable properties worth Rs 12.65 crore belonging to Sahiti Infratec Ventures India Pvt. Ltd. (SIVIPL), its former director, Sandu Purnachandra Rao, his family members, and associated entities for defrauding homebuyers.
During the investigation, it was found that SIVIPL did not have the necessary RERA or HMDA permissions. There was no escrow account for the project, and the funds received from investors were deposited in various bank accounts, officials said. Though Rs 216.91 crore was collected from investors in cash, the officials said the money was kept out of the company’s books of accounts.
B. Lakshminarayana, managing director of SIVIPL, and Sandu Purnachandra Rao, director and head of the sales and marketing team, diverted part of the homebuyers’ funds to their personal and family members’ bank accounts. Funds embezzled from homebuyers were also used to acquire immovable properties in their names, as well as in the names of their relatives and benami entities.
Purnachandra Rao is alleged to have misappropriated Rs 126 crore collected from SIVIPL customers by signing “Agreements of Sale” and handling funds through his personal bank accounts. This amount included Rs 50 crore collected from customers in cash between 2018 and August 2020.
Further investigation revealed that Purnachandra Rao possessed immovable properties worth several crores of rupees in his name, as well as in the names of his family members and associates. These assets were allegedly acquired after his resignation from SIVIPL by laundering the proceeds of crime.
The ED had earlier attached properties worth Rs 161.50 crore belonging to SIVIPL, B. Lakshminarayana, S. Purnachandra Rao, and others. Lakshminarayana and Purnachandra Rao were arrested by the ED on September 29, 2024, and August 25, 2025, respectively.
Various bail petitions filed by the accused before the Nampally court and the Telangana High Court were dismissed, and both remain in judicial custody. A Prosecution Complaint (PC) — similar to chargesheet in ED cases — has been filed in the case.
The ED initiated the investigation based on multiple FIRs registered by the Telangana police under Section 420 of the IPC against SIVIPL, its promoters, directors, and others, following complaints from investors and homebuyers who were promised delivery of flats and villas but were defrauded of a cumulative amount of Rs 842.15 crore.
