ED Attaches Rs 80 Crore Benami Properties of Mahipal’s Brother
MLA’s brother linked to benami properties
Hyderabad: In a major development in MLA Gudem Mahipal Reddy's brother Madhusudhan Reddy benami business case, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) attached several immovable and movable properties worth Rs 80.05 crore under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002. in connection with an ongoing investigation in a case related to illegal mining by Santosh Sand and Granite Supply.
During searches, the ED seized numerous property documents from Gudem Madhusudhan Reddy, the proprietor of Santhosh Sand and Granite Supply. Further investigation revealed that though these properties were in the names of different persons, the beneficial owner of the properties is Gudem Madhusudhan Reddy. Examination of the purported owners of these properties revealed that they were benamis of Gudem Madhusudhan Reddy.
Though the mining license was granted by the government to Santhosh Sand and Granite Supply, it sub-contracted the mining to GVR Enterprises, a partnership firm of Gudem Madhusudhan Reddy and G. Vikram Reddy in violation of lease terms without express permission from the government.
The ED investigation also revealed that the illegally mined products were majorly sold in cash and the proceeds of crime were further invested in properties, mostly in the names of benamis. At least 81 such properties, valued at `78.93 crore have been provisionally attached during investigation.
Further, some amount was also due to GVR Enterprises from the purchasers of illegally mined material. As this amount also represents POC, fixed deposits of `1.12 crore in the names of these entities have also been attached.
The ED initiated investigation based on the FIRs registered by Patancheru police. The FIR alleged that Santhosh Sand and Granite Supply had cheated the government by carrying out excess mining in the assigned quarry area and also carrying out illegal mining in unassigned government land. This caused huge revenue loss to the government to the tune of `39.08 crore towards royalty payable and by wrongfully enriching themselves to the tune of `300 crore from the illegal mining carried out by them.
