ED Attaches Rs.17.9 Crore Assets of Bharati Builders

Hyderabad: The Enforcement Directorate (ED), Hyderabad Zonal Office, has provisionally attached Rs.17.97 crore worth movable and immovable properties of Bharati Builders in connection with an alleged cheating case. The attachment was carried out under the provisions of the PMLA against the firm, its partners, their family members and others.

The ED initiated its investigation based on FIR No. 10/2024 dated May 4, 2024, registered by the EOW Police Station, Cyberabad, against Mulpury Sivarama Krishna, Dupati Naga Raju, and Doddakula Narsimha Rao alias Ponnari for allegedly cheating homebuyers.

According to the ED, Mulpury Sivarama Krishna, managing partner of Bharati Builders, along with others, allegedly floated a pre-launch scheme under which over 450 homebuyers were induced to invest in a housing project titled “Bharati Lake View Towers”.

The agency said the accused entered into MoUs with investors, assuring completion of the project, while allegedly concealing that statutory permissions had not been obtained and that the project land had already been pledged as collateral for loans. It further alleged that the liabilities of the firm and its promoters were also concealed.

The ED stated that the accused generated proceeds of crime of about Rs.75 crore by collecting advances from homebuyers, including around Rs.17 crore in cash.

According to the investigation, funds collected from buyers were allegedly diverted towards repayment of liabilities, payment of interest, investment in immovable properties, commission payments for conversion of funds into cash, and other purposes unrelated to the project.

The agency also alleged that land parcels purchased for the project were sold to unrelated parties, and that the accused continued to collect advances from buyers without disclosing the sale of project land. Further investigation is in progress, the ED said.