The Enforcement Directorate has attached immovable properties valued at Rs 18.33 crore belonging to Kallam Peri Reddy and his associates, linked to a loan fraud case involving multiple rice mill entities and forged bank title deeds.
Enforcement Directorate Attaches Properties
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Tuesday said it has attached immovable properties worth Rs 18.33 crore of Kallam Peri Reddy and his family members as well as associates in the case of Kallam Modern Rice Mills Pvt Ltd and others in an ongoing money laundering case. ED attached 50 immovable properties valued at Rs 16.88 crore and five flats valued at Rs 1.45 crore, totalling Rs 18.33 crore, located in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, as Proceeds of Crime under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 or as equivalent value thereof. ED's Visakhapatnam sub-zonal office attached the immovable properties under the PMLA.
Origins of the Money Laundering Probe
ED investigation was initiated on the basis of First Information Report (FIR) registered by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) in Chennai on the complaint of Guntur-based State Bank of India (erstwhile State Bank of Hyderabad), against Kallam Modern Rice Mills Pvt Ltd, Sri Ramabrahma Modern Rice Mills Pvt Ltd, Sri Vinayaka Traders and others.
Details of the Loan Fraud
During 2010-2013, ED said the group obtained credit facilities of Rs 24.57 crore from SBH, Arundelpet Branch in Guntur by submitting fake and forged title deeds of collateral properties and diverted the funds, causing a loss of Rs 18.33 crore to the bank.
Operational Methods of the Accused
ED said its investigation has revealed that "Kallam Peri Reddy operated and managed about 26 entities registered in the names of his relatives, employees and associates, including the three borrower concerns namely Kallam Modern Rice Mills Pvt Ltd, Sri Ramabrahma Modern Rice Mills Pvt Ltd, and Sri Vinayaka Traders. Analysis of bank accounts revealed that cash of about Rs 23.81 crore was withdrawn from the cash credit accounts of the three borrower concerns in the names of workers, accountants and Kallam Peri Reddy himself.
"Further investigation has revealed that several properties were purchased out of the loan proceeds, partly in cash withdrawn from bank accounts controlled by Kallam Peri Reddy," said the ED. "It is also revealed that Kallam Peri Reddy had transferred some immovable properties to his relatives and associates without receiving any sale consideration. The said properties were only held by them as namesake owners, while he continued to be the actual beneficial owner," added the agency.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by Asianetnews Editorial staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
