The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has attached assets (movable and immovable) worth Rs 315 crore of a firm that belongs to Telugu Desam Party (TDP) lawmaker YS Chowdary. The firm is in soup over money laundering and bank fraud
New Delhi: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has attached assets worth Rs 315 crore of a firm promoted by TDP MP YS Chowdary, on charges of money laundering and alleged bank fraud.
The ED said that a provisional order for the attachment was issued under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) for attaching immovable and movable properties of Viceroy Hotels Ltd, Hyderabad, in a bank fraud case.
The ED had taken up the case on the basis of an FIR filed by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) against Best & Crompton Engineering Pvt Ltd (BCEPL) and their officials.
The FIR stated that the officials entered into a criminal conspiracy during 2010-2013 for "defrauding Central Bank of India, Andhra Bank and Corporation Bank".
The loss caused to the consortium of banks due to the fraud was to the tune of Rs 364 crore.
The ED said that BCEPL is a part of Sujana Group of Companies.
Chowdary, a Rajya Sabha MP of the TDP, is considered a close aide of Andhra Pradesh chief minister and TDP president N Chandrababu Naidu.
Chowdary was a minister of state (MoS) in the Union cabinet headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi before Naidu quit the NDA early last year over the Centre's refusal to grant special status to Andhra Pradesh.
The ED, in its statement, said, "Several shell companies were floated and money was circulated among the companies using bogus invoices and part of the loan amount was diverted to one Mahal Hotels which is also a shell company floated by the Sujana Group."
"After circuitous transactions finally the amounts were paid to Viceroy Hotels Ltd in the guise of business transaction agreement between Viceroy Hotels Ltd and Mahal Hotels Pvt Ltd," the ED added.
The statement read that the company Viceroy Hotels, “admitted their liability towards Mahal Hotels as Rs 315 crore and hence the properties of Viceroy Hotels Ltd to the extent of this amount were provisionally attached”.
The ED had carried out raids on the premises of these firms at multiple locations including Hyderabad and Delhi in the past.
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