New Delhi, Dec 4 (PTI) The Enforcement Directorate on Monday said it has frozen cash, bank balance and shares worth more than Rs 45 crore after it recently carried out searches in Mumbai and Chennai in a money laundering case linked to alleged misappropriation of Rs 129 crore.
Fourteen locations were raided on November 29-30 and the focus of the action was on Ramprasath Reddy, a former employee of Gateway Office Parks Private Limited (formerly Shriram Properties and Infrastructure Private Limited), which was acquired by global fund house Xander in 2017, the central agency said in a statement.
It said some other entities controlled by the Pukhraj Jain family (Salem Stainless Steel Suppliers Private Limited, Four Star Estates LLP, M/s High Hills LLP), and those controlled by Rajesh alias Saravanan Jeevanandam (JKS Constructions, Suyambhu Projects, SK Traders, SV Infrastructure, GR Projects and Karthik Traders) were also covered during the searches.
The money laundering case stems from a Chennai Police crime branch FIR against Reddy and others for allegedly siphoning Rs 129 crore. The police case was filed on the basis of a complaint lodged by Gateway Office Parks Private Limited, Chennai, it said.
Ramprasath Reddy orchestrated the “misappropriation” of Rs 129 crore through his family-owned entities, the ED alleged.
The funds were diverted through the mentioned entities under the pretext of payments for the supply of goods and services, leveraging the issuance of counterfeit invoices, it claimed.
Undisclosed cash and bank deposits – totalling more than Rs 45 crore – were frozen under section 17(1A) of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) after the raids, the agency said.
Some “high-end” apartments in Mumbai and Chennai, along with other properties obtained through the proceeds of crime have also been identified in this case, the ED said. PTI NES RT RT
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