In a major setback to YSR Congress president Y.S. Jaganmohan Reddy in the quid pro quo investments cases, the Enforcement Directorate on Monday attached properties worth over Rs. 47 crore belonging to his three companies -- Jagati Publications Ltd, Janani Infrastructure Pvt. Ltd and Indira Television Ltd.
Joint Director of ED, Hyderabad Zone, K.S.V.V. Prasad, stated that the attached properties include plant and machinery worth over Rs. 5.59 crore of Jagati Publications, lands and buildings at six places and only buildings at another nine places, both in the name of Janani Infrastructure, worth about Rs. 16.56 crore and plant and machinery worth Rs. 24.85 crore of Indira Television.
(The assets and properties in the first two attachments are in use by a newspaper with multiple editions while the assets in the third attachment are in use by a television channel, owned by Mr. Jaganmohan Reddy.)
The attachment has been made in a case initiated by the Central Bureau of investigation (CBI) in September 2013 against Mr. Jaganmohan Reddy’s companies – Jagati Publications and Carmel Asia Holdings Pvt. Ltd, alleging receipt of money from PR Energy Holdings Ltd in return of undue benefits granted to Penna Group of companies.
The ED investigation taken up under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002, had revealed that Carmel Asia had received Rs. 23 crore and Jagati Publications had received Rs. 45 crore from PR Energy Holdings.
This amount of Rs. 68 crore was received by Mr. Jaganmohan Reddy’s companies in lieu of benefits such as sanction of mining leases and alienation of government lands and others granted to the Penna Group, Mr. Prasad said.
Further, the probe had revealed that Rs. 47 crore out of Rs. 68 crore constituted the proceeds of crime and was invested in Jagati Publications, Janani Infrastructure and Indira Television.
Accordingly, corresponding properties were identified in the form of fixed assets – plant and machinery and lands and buildings with the three companies and were attached, the ED Joint Director stated.
The attached land and buildings are located at Karimnagar, Kurnool, Nalgonda, Mangalagiri, Mahabubnagar and Nellore and only buildings at Anantapur, Balanagar and Nacharam (Hyderabad), Khammam, Nizamabad, Ongole, Tirupati, Vijayawada and Warangal.
