ED attaches Rs 749 cr assets of Jagan and his wife

Enforcement Directorate on Wednesday attached properties worth Rs 749.10 crore belonging to YSR Congress chief Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy and his wife Y S Bharathi Reddy in connection with its probe in a money laundering case. The agency launched the investigations on the basis of a charge sheet filed by the CBI accusing Jagan, son of then Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Rajasekhar Reddy, of entering into a criminal conspiracy with others to get a mining lease allotted to M/s Bharathi Cement Corporation Private Ltd of which Bharathi is the chairman. Jagan received bribes from various persons/companies in the guise of investments in his group companies as a quid pro quo for undue favours granted to them by the Andhra Pradesh government, the ED said in a statement here. A case of laundering was registered against Jagan and others by ED's Hyderabad zonal office under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002. ED said its investigations under PMLA revealed that Jagan laundered the proceeds of crime through his group companies M/s Sandur Power Company Pvt Ltd, M/S Classic Realty Pvt Ltd, M/s Silicon Builders Pvt Ltd, M/s Saraswati Power and Industries Pvt Ltd and 10 other firms in the form of investments, purchase of movable and immovable properties, third party payments, etc. Apart from it, M/s Bharathi Cement Corporation Pvt Ltd has received the proceeds of crime in the form of limestone mined from the mines allotted illegally to them in Kadapa district by then AP government. The value of limestone works out to be more than Rs 152 crore during the relevant period, it said. "During investigation under PMLA, the proceeds of crime involved in money laundering were identified in the form of movable (Rs 404,72,32,182) and immovable properties (Rs 344,38,10,378) totally valued at Rs 749.10 crore," ED Joint Director (Hyderabad Zone) S A Umashanker Goud said. The attached properties are spread across Telangana, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka. In the past, the agency had attached properties worth several hundreds of crores belonging to Jagan and others. CBI had filed 11 chargesheets against Jagan and others pertaining to the alleged investments made by various private firms and individuals to the tune of several crores in his businesse. The agency said this was part of quid pro quo arrangement in exchange for alleged favours by the erstwhile Rajasekhar Reddy government.