Now, Reddy brothers in ED net
Now, Reddy brothers in ED net
Even as the CBI continued its probe into the wealth amassed by the Reddy brothers through illegal mining and stashed away in bank lockers in Bellary, D Hirehal and Anantapur on Saturday, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) working in tandem with it might register a case against the two for money laundering, which may lead to attachment of their properties.
The Enforcement Directorate is a law enforcement agency and economic intelligence agency responsible for enforcing economic laws and fighting economic crime in India.
The Reddy brothers might have resorted to money laundering by floating benami companies, creating fictitious accounts and inflating balance sheets of such companies, the CBI probe said.
An evidence of this was first observed during an Income Tax (I-T) raid in Karnataka in August 2010. The I-T department seized incriminating evidence linking the Reddy brothers to a few companies in Indonesia and Singapore. It also suspected the Reddys’ role in floating bogus companies in many countries, including the Bahamas and Mauritius.
The CBI also provided leads to the ED on violation of Foreign Exchange Management Act by a company floated by G Lakshmi Aruna, Janardhana Reddy’s wife.
Though the ED is tight-lipped about booking a case against the Reddy brothers and Srinivas Reddy, sources point out that the ED held several meetings with the CBI, during which it gathered enough evidence to initiate action against the Reddys.
The ED is said to have submitted its preliminary findings to its headquarters in New Delhi. The ED may book Janardhana Reddy under Section 3 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, and freeze the bank accounts pertaining to the Obulapuram Mining Company (OMC) and the Reddy brothers.
The ED has also booked similar cases against Y S Jaganmohan Reddy. However, it has not attached his properties. It may not be long before the ED initiates action against Janardhana Reddy, as it has prepared its report based on the work it did in tandem with the CBI.
