ED unearths Rs 300 crore mining scam in Telangana
Hyderabad, June 22 : Day after searches at the premises of BRS MLA Gudem Mahipal Reddy, his brother Gudem Madhusudhan Reddy and the latter's firm, the Enforcement Directorate on Friday said that the accused illegally amassed around Rs 300 crore by sale of illegally excavated material.
The Central agency also revealed that the accused evaded a royalty amount of Rs 39.08 crore due to the government.
The ED's Hyderabad Zonal Office conducted search operations on June 20 at 10 locations in and around Hyderabad in a money laundering case against Santhosh Sand & Granite Supply, Patancheru. Searches were conducted at the premises of the firm's proprietor Gudem Madhusudan Reddy, BRS MLA Gudem Mahipal Reddy and others, under the provisions of the PMLA, 2002.
During the search operations, unaccounted cash of Rs 19 lakh, various property documents - in the names of unrelated persons who are suspected to be 'benamis' of the accused, mobile phones, and bank locker keys were recovered and seized, the ED said in a statement, adding examination of the bank lockers is expected to reveal further incriminating evidence.
The agency initiated its investigation on the basis of FIRs registered by Telangana Police against Santhosh Sand & Granite Supply, a proprietary concern of Gudem Madhusudan Reddy. The accused firm was found to have excavated and transported an excess quantity of 11,98,743 CBM of building stone and road metal within the quarry lease permitted area and 10,11,672 CBM of material beyond the permitted area (on encroached government land admeasuring 4.37 Ha), thus illegally amassing around Rs 300 crore by its sale and also evading the royalty amount due to the government, it said.
The ED investigation revealed that sale proceeds of illegally excavated material were deliberately not reported in banking transactions and books of accounts and that the transactions were suspected to have been carried out in cash. ED investigation revealed that proceeds of crime in the form of cash were laundered by the accused and were invested in real estate and other activities.
Further investigation is under progress, the ED added.