CHENNAI, June 13:
Enforcement Directorate, Chennai provisionally attached 50 kg of gold ingots/bars worth Rs 13,96,88,246 of industrialist and sand mining baron J Sekhar Reddy and his associates in connection with exchange of old notes to new currency notes under the provisions of Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 (PMLA).
Income Tax Department has conducted raids at various places of Sekhar Reddy, of SRS Mining and seized about Rs 97 crore of Old Currencies, Rs 34 Crore of New Currencies and about 177 kgs of Gold ingots/bars.
ED Joint Director KSVV Prasad in a statement here said, based on the same, CBI Registered FIRs against them alleging conversion of demonetized currencies into new currencies fraudulently.
As the alleged offences are scheduled offences, the ED has initiated investigations under PMLA against Sekhar Reddy and others.
So far Rs 10 crore of old currencies, 6.5 kg gold bullion, Rs 34 crore of new currency and 30 kg of gold seized has already been attached provisionally.
He said Sekhar Reddy has stated that cash seized by the Income Tax department belongs to his SRS mining Company and he admitted that it was unaccounted money.
However, he has not divulged the actual source of new currencies other than stating that it is from the sand mining business. They converted a part of such unaccounted monies in to Gold bars through his associate Premkumar.
During the searches 49.480 kgs of gold bars valued at Rs. 13,96,88,246 were recovered and seized by the Income Tax Department Authorities from a flat of SRS Mining. Premkumar has stated that he used to receive money from K Srinivasulu, associate of Sekhar Reddy, for purchase of Gold bars.
The ED Joint Director said from November 20 to December 7, 2016 Premkumar has purchased about 80 kg gold, by cash from various persons on behalf of K. Srinivasulu. He stated that no bills or vouchers were maintained by him for the said procurement of gold.
Srinivasulu has stated that he used to receive money from SRS mining and used to use a part of the same for converting into gold bars through Premakumar as per the instructions of Sekhar Reddy.
Remaining cash was kept at various premises and the same was earlier recovered and seized by Income Tax department.
In his further statement on June 9, with regard to seizure of about 49.480 kgs of gold from premises of SRS mining, he has stated that same was procured through Premkumar, paying the monies received from partners of SRS Mining.
Ramachandran & Rethinam, partners of M/s SRS Mining stated that they used to transport huge cash by road without accompanying any accounts for the said amounts. It was admitted that they have not maintained any accounts against the collections, expenses, etc. so as to conceal the illegal earnings from the accounted income.
However they stated that they never instructed for purchase of Gold bars and it may be as per the instructions of Sekhar Reddy only.
On reasonable belief that the seized 49.480 kgs of gold bars valued at Rs. 13,96,88,246 are part of proceeds of crime, the same were provisionally attached under the provisions of PMLA.
With this, the total attachments in this case, added up to about Rs 68.5 Crore, Mr Prasad said. Further investigations are in progress. (UNI)
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